In Brief:

There are four English words commonly used in translations to represent two Hebrew words (Old Testament) and two Greek words (New Testament. The English words are tempt, test, try and prove. Note that I researched this 44 years ago and recent translations might have since used other words as well.

The Hebrew words and their usage are:

bachan - to test or evaluate something, like trying out a new food or drink, or taking a car for a test drive.

nacah (the c is pronounced as an s) - to prove or put to the test, to tempt (KJV).

1. This is the word used in Genesis 22:1 to describe the reasoning behind the scenario God set up for Abraham when He asked Abraham to sacrifice his son of promise, Isaac. In reading verse 12 we could get the impression that God needed this scenario in order to know what was in Abraham's heart, but there are numerous OT scriptures which state categorically that God already knows our thoughts and intentions.

Instead, God was actually providing a situation for Abraham to demonstrate or prove to himself what was in his heart, because he had already failed two previous challenges to his faith in God's promises when he passed his wife off as his sister and sent her into a ruler's harem because he was (needlessly) afraid for his own life. (See Genesis 12 and 20.) He passed the test on the third occasion.