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• reaches past spoken words to cover what a person says inwardly, telling or resolving something in the heartGen 17:17Psa 14:1

• both are the plain, default way to report that someone put words to something, with the words spoken following right afterGen 1:3Gen 22:7

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• both introduce the words one person speaks to anotherGen 32:4

• in English "tell" implies passing along information to a hearer; the Hebrew simply marks that words were said, with no built-in notion of informing someone

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• both can stand at the head of a reply, introducing the words a person speaks backGen 27:18

• English "answer" adds the idea of replying to a question or remark; the Hebrew carries no such notion, and translators reach for "answered" only because the verse before it was a question

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• both can introduce an authoritative directive spoken by a superior to those under themGen 45:9

• "command" adds the weight of an order that must be obeyed; the Hebrew verb itself is neutral, and the force of a command comes from who is speaking, not from the word

• the Hebrew is still the verb "say": the person says it to themselves or in their heart, framing the thought as inner speech or a resolve, not merely a mental impressionGen 27:411Sa 27:1

• both describe what goes on inwardly, what a person tells themselves when no one else hearsGen 17:17

• "think" sounds like a passing notion in the mind; the idiom often carries a settled decision a person speaks to themselves and then acts on

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• both can report a speaker committing to do a thing by saying itGen 21:1

• "promise" adds a binding pledge to be kept; the Hebrew is just "say," and the sense of a promise is drawn from the surrounding account, where the speaker had pledged something earlier