Great question. When translating the Bible, scholars don’t just pick a meaning randomly. They use a combination of linguistics, context, and tradition. When looking at context, the surrounding text determines the meaning. They also look at grammar and syntax, how the language is structured (verb forms, sentence structure, prepositions and particles, etc.) because it affects translation nuance. Another way to determine meaning is by looking at parallel passages. The Bible often repeats ideas in different places. Scholars compare similar verses and the same words and phrases elsewhere. For example, if a word appears 200 times, its usage patterns help define meaning. Other early ancient translations are also referred to because if multiple ancient translators chose the same meaning, that’s strong evidence. The historical and cultural context is also taken into account. Words meant something specific in their original culture, and that original contextualized meaning should be reflected in the translation. Scholars also look at cognate languages. For example, Hebrew and Aramaic are related to languages like Akkadian or Ugaritic, so a rare Hebrew word's meaning might be clarified if its cognate appears in Akkadian tablets or Ugaritic poetry. At the end of the day, biblical scholars don’t guess meanings, they triangulate them using context, grammar, ancient translations, and historical knowledge. A word doesn’t have meaning by itself. It has meaning in context. Translation is interpretation guided by evidence.