לֹא or
לוֺא adverb not (Arabic
, Aramaic
H3809 לָא,
, Sabean
לא, Ass.
lâ; not in Ethiopic: compare Kö
ii. 1. 236 Walker
AJSL 1896, 237 ff.) —
לוֺא, according to Masora (Fr
MM 248), +
35 times, besides
בְּלוֺא +
6 times, and
הֲלוֺא, the orthography of which varies much (
ib.p. 251), e.g. in Samuel always
הֲלוֺא, in Chronicles always
הֲלֹא, on the whole
הֲלוֺא +
141 times,
הֲלֹא +
128 times; twice, according to Masora, written
לו (Qr
לֹא),
1 Samuel 2:16;
1 Samuel 20:2, once
לה Deuteronomy 3:11 Kt: —
not — denying objectively, like
οὐ (not
μὴ =
אַל): —
1. in predication:
a. with a verb; so most frequently, and nearly always
(a) with the finite tenses, whether perfect (
Genesis 2:5b;
Genesis 4:5 etc.) or imperfect (
Genesis 3:4;
8:21,
22 etc.); in short circumstantial clauses, as
Genesis 44:4 לא הרחיקו,
Isaiah 40:20 לֹא יִמּוֺט, and with a final force
Isaiah 41:7;
Exodus 28:32 (see Ges
§ 156. 3 R. b, c Dr
§ 162). Governing two closely connected verbs (Dr
§ 115,
לא)
Exodus 28:43 וְלֹא יִשְׂאוּ עָוֺן וָמֵתוּ,
Leviticus 19:12,
29b Deuteronomy 7:25,
26;
Deuteronomy 19:10;
Deuteronomy 22:1 and elsewhere; and two parallel clauses (Ges
§ 152. 3)
Isaiah 23:4b Psalm 9:19;
Psalm 44:19;
Job 3:1 and elsewhere. With the imperfect, especially with
2nd person singular,
לֹא often expresses (not, like
אַל, a deprecation,
do not...,
let not..., but) a
prohibition, as
Genesis 2:17 לֹא תאֹכַל מִמֶּנּוּ thou
shall not eat of it,
Genesis 3:1,
3;
Exodus 20:3 לֹאיִֿהְיֶה לְךָ there
shall not be to thee, etc.,
Exodus 20:13 לא תגנב, etc. With the cohortive and jussive moods (which are negatived regularly by
אַל), it occurs only exceptionally (Ges
§ 109. 1 b R. 1),
Genesis 24:8;
1 Samuel 14:36;
2 Samuel 17:12;
2 Samuel 18:14;
1 Kings 2:6;
Ezekiel 48:14.
(b) with the infinitive (which is negatived by
בִּלְתִּי, which see), only once, in
בְּלֹא (
4a), and with
לְ, in the sense of
cannot, or
must not;
Judges 1:19 כי לא להורישׁ for it
was not (possible)
to dispossess, etc.
Amos 6:10 לא להזכיר בשׁם י׳,
1 Chronicles 5:1;
1 Chronicles 15:2 (Dr
§ 202. 2); compare Aramaic
לָא Daniel 6:9;
Ezra 6:8. On its use with the participle, see
b c.
(c) לא always negates properly the word immediately following: hence, in a verbal sentence, where this is not the verb, some special stress rests upon it,
Genesis 32:29 לֹא יַעֲקֹב יֵאָמֵר עוֺד וג׳ not Jacob shall thy name be called any more, but Israel,
Genesis 45:8 לֹא אַתֶּם שְׁלַחְתֶּם אֹתִי Not ye (in our idiom: It is not ye who) have sent me hither, but God,
Exodus 16:8;
1 Samuel 8:7 כִּי לֹא אֹתְךָ מָאָסוּ כִּי אֹתִי וג׳,
Psalm 115:17; without a following correcting clause,
Genesis 38:9;
Numbers 16:29 שְׁלָחָנִי׃ לֹא י׳ Not י׳ (but another) hath sent me,
Deuteronomy 32:27 לֹא זֹאת פָּעַל י׳,
1 Chronicles 17:4;
Deuteronomy 8:9;
Isaiah 28:28 לא לנצח ֗֗֗ not for ever (but only for a while)... (so
Isaiah 57:16;
Psalm 9:19;
Psalm 49:18;
Psalm 103:9; but
Isaiah 13:20 לא תשׁב לנצח is, will
not be inhabited for ever),
Isaiah 43:22;
Job 13:16;
Job 32:9; hence rhetorically, insinuating something very different, not named,
2 Kings 6:10 not once, and
not twice (but repeatedly),
Ezra 10:13;
Jeremiah 4:11 a wind
לֹא לְזָרוֺת וְלוֺא לְהַָֽֽֽבר׃ not to winnow, and
not to cleanse (but to exterminate),
Isaiah 45:13;
Isaiah 48:1b Joshua 24:12;
Daniel 11:20,
29;
Job 34:20 לֹא בְיָד (but by a Divine agency: compare
Daniel 2:34; also
Job 20:26 נֻפָּ֑ח לֹא אֵשׁ fire
not blown upon [but kindled from heaven],
Lamentations 4:6; and
אין Isaiah 47:14).
(d) standing alone:
(
β)
אִם־לֹא֗֗֗הֲ,
or not,
Genesis 24:21 waiting to know
דַּרְכּוֺ אִםלֹֿא הַהִצְלִיחַ י׳,
Genesis 27:21;
Genesis 37:32;
Exodus 16:4;
Numbers 11:23;
Deuteronomy 8:2;
Judges 2:22 (compare
אִם אַיִן,
אַיִן 2 d β,
δ). In answer to a question or request, to deny, or decline,
Nay, Nö:
Judges 12:5 ויאמר לא,
Haggai 2:12;
לא אדני Genesis 23:11;
Genesis 42:10;
1 Samuel 1:15 +; often followed by
כי, Nö
for... = Nö
but...,
Genesis 18:15 ויאמר לֹא כִּי צָחָ֑קְתְּ,
Genesis 19:2;
Joshua 5:14;
Joshua 24:21;
1 Samuel 2:16 Qr (see Dr),
1 Samuel 10:19 (
MSS),
2 Samuel 16:18;
2 Samuel 24:24;
1 Kings 3:22 (twice in verse) +;
Job 23:6 (strangely). (compare, in deprecation,
אַל.)
(e) with an interrogative force, which however does not lie in
לא as such, but (as in other cases) in the contrast with a preceding clause, or in the tone of voice (compare
וְ 1 f; Ew
§ 324 a Ges
§ 150. 1 Dr
1 8 11, 12):
Jonah 4:11 וג'אָחוּס לֹא וַאֲנִי֗֗֗חַסְתָּ אַתָּה,
Job 2:10;
Job 22:11;
Exodus 8:22;
2 Kings 5:26;
Jeremiah 49:9 (||
Obadiah 5 הֲלוֺא),
Malachi 2:15;
Lamentations 3:38; and in passages, exegesis or text. doubtful (see Commentaries),
1 Samuel 20:14;
2 Samuel 23:5 (but see Bu),
Hosea 10:9 (Ew We),
Hosea 11:5 (Ew),
Job 14:16b (but
Ew Di
תַעֲבֹר),
Lamentations 1:12 (Ew Ke),
Lamentations 3:36 (Ke Bä).
b. with adjectives and substantive:
(b) Exodus 4:16 לֹא אִישׁ דְּבָרִים אָנֹכִי,
Amos 7:14 לא נביא אנכי,
Numbers 23:9 לֹא אִישׁ אֵל וִיכַזֵּב,
Deuteronomy 17:15 (see
אשׁר 2.
b)
Deuteronomy 20:20;
Deuteronomy 32:47;
1 Samuel 15:29;
2 Samuel 18:20 לֹא אִישׁ בְּשׂרָה אַתָּה הַיּוֺם,
2 Samuel 21:2;
1 Kings 22:33;
2 Kings 6:19 לא זִה הדרך,
Micah 2:10;
Isaiah 27:11;
Hosea 8:6;
והמה לא אלהים Jeremiah 2:11;
Jeremiah 16:20;
2 Kings 19:18;
1 Kings 19:11 (twice in verse)
לֹא בָרַעַשׁ י׳,
Deuteronomy 30:12,
13;
Job 15:9;
Job 28:14 לֹא בִי הִיא (||
אֵין עִמָּדִי),
Psalm 74:9;
Jeremiah 5:10 המה לוא לי׳,
Jeremiah 10:16;
Deuteronomy 32:21 בָּנִים לֹא אֵמוּן בָּם,
Jeremiah 10:14;
Habakkuk 1:14;
Job 16:17;
Job 38:26 מִדְבָּר לֹא אָדָם בּוֺ;
1 Kings 22:17 לֹא אֲדֹנִים לָאֵלֶּה,
Jeremiah 49:31;
Psalm 22:3 וְלֹא דוּמִיָּה לִי,
Job 18:17,
19;
Job 29:12 ולא עֹזֵר לו,
Job 30:13;
Job 33:9;
Jeremiah 2:19 וְלֹא פַחְדָּתִי אֵלַיִךְ and (that) my terror reached not unto thee,
Job 21:9; absolute
Genesis 29:7 לֹאעֵֿתִ הֵאָסֵף הַמִּקְנֶה (
Haggai 1:2),
Numbers 20:5;
2 Kings 4:23 לא חדשׁ ולא שׁבת,
Isaiah 44:9;
Jeremiah 5:12 ויאמרו לוא הוא,
Job 9:32;
Job 22:16;
Job 36:26;
Job 41:2;
Proverbs 19:7 (si vera lectio)
מְרַדֵּף אֲמָרִים לֹאהֵֿמָּה words which
are not, which
are nought.
(c) with the participle
לֹא is rare, a finite verb being usually preferred (
Exodus 34:7 וְנַקִּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה : Ew
§ 320 c Dr
§ 162):
2 Samuel 3:34 יָדֶיךָ לֹא אֲסֻרוֺת,
Ezekiel 4:14;
Ezekiel 22:24;
Deuteronomy 28:61;
Psalm 38:15 כְּאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא שֹׁמֵעַ who is
not hearing,
Job 12:3;
Job 13:2 לֹא נֹפֵל אָנֹכִי מִכֶּם,
Zephaniah 3:5 (very anomalous);
1 Kings 10:21 לא is probably textual error In
וְהוּא לֹא שׂנֵא לוֺ or
לא שׂנא הוא לו,
Deuteronomy 4:42;
Deuteronomy 19:4,
6;
Joshua 20:5 (compare
אֹיֵב Numbers 35:23),
שׂנֵא is best construed as a substantive, he being a
not-hater to him afore-time. — In most of the cases under
b, c,
אין could have been employed; but the negation by
לֹא is more pointed and forcible.
2. Not in predication:
d. with a substantive, in poetry, forming a kind of compound, expressing pointedly its antithesis or negation (German
un- is sometimes used similarly):
Deuteronomy 32:5 (?).
Deuteronomy 32:17,
Deuteronomy 32:21a they made me jealous
בְּלֹא אֵל with a
not-God (with what in no respect deserved the name of God),
Deuteronomy 32:21b בְּלֹא עָם i.e. with an unorganized horde,
Amos 6:13 הַשְּׂמֵחִים לְלֹא דָבָר i.e. at a thing which
is not, an unreality (of their boasted strength),
Isaiah 10:15 כְּהָרִים מַטֶּה לֹא עֵץ like a rod's lifting up
what is no wood (but the agent wielding it),
Isaiah 31:8 חרב לא אישׁ,
חרב לא אדם,
Isaiah 55:2 בלוא לחם for
what is not bread,
בלוא לשׂבעה for
what is not for satiety,
Jeremiah 5:7 וַיּשָּֽׁבְעוּ בְּלֹא אֱלֹהִים by
not-gods, in late prose
2 Chronicles 13:9 כֹּהֵן לְלֹא אֱלֹהִים;
Psalm 44:13 תִּמְכֹּר עַמְּךָ בְּלֹאהֿוֺן for
no-value (i.e. cheaply),
Proverbs 13:23;
Job 10:12 צלמות וְלֹא סְדָרִים darkness and
disorder; so
לֹאעַֿמִּי Hosea 1:9;
Hosea 2:25 [
Hosea 2:23]: still more pregnantly
Job 26:2a מֶהעָֿזַרְתָּ לְלֹאכֹֿחַ (poetic for
לאשׁר אין לו כח) the
powerless,
Job 26:2b;
Job 26:3a (Ew
§ 286 g Ges
§ 152. 1 n.),
Job 39:16 הִקְשִׁיחַ בָּנֶיהָ לְלֹא לָהּ useth hardly her young ones (making them) into
none of hers; and even
Habakkuk 2:6 הַמַּרְבֶּה לֹאלֿוֺ what is not his own (compare
Job 18:15 מִבְּלִי לוֺ). Compare with a verb, and ellipse of
אשׁר,
Isaiah 65:1 לְלֹא שָׁאָ֑לוּ to those who have not asked,
Isaiah 65:1b Jeremiah 2:8 אַחֲרִי לֹא יוֺעִילוּ,
Jeremiah 2:11b; also
לֹא רֻחָ֫מָה Hosea 1:6,
8;
Hosea 2:25 [
Hosea 2:23], and probably
Job 31:31 לֹא נִשְׂבָּ֑ע (perfect in P.) one
not satisfied.
e. in circumstantial clauses (Dr
§ 164), in poetry and rare: qualifying a substantive,
2 Samuel 23:4 בֹּקֶר לֹא עָבוֺת a morning
without clouds,
Job 12:24 בְּתֹהוּ לֹא דֶרֶךְ in a
pathless waste,
Job 38:26a; and a verb
Job 34:24 יָרֹעַ כַּבִּרִים לֹא חֵקֶר without inquiry,
Psalm 59:4 לא פשׁעי ולא חטאתי (compare
Psalm 59:4 בלי עון), in late prose, twice,
1 Chronicles 2:30,
32 וימת לא בנים (
אֵין and
בְּלִי, which see, are more usual in such cases).
3. Once (according to many MSS), as a substantive,
Job 6:21 כִּיעַֿתָּה הֱיִיתֶם לֹא for now are ye become
nothing, Hi De Kö (compare
Daniel 4:32 (Aramaic)
כְּלָה חֲשִׁיבִין,
here
כְּלָא הֲוֵיתוּן, and
אַל Job 24:25); but reading fluctuates (Orientals
לֹא, Qr
לו, Westerns, Baer (see pp. 37, 56)
לוֺ ['now are ye become
that,' namely the
נַחַל אַכְזָב of
Job 24:15]; but even
לוֺ yields a forced sense; and text is probably wrong: Mich Ew Ol Sgf Bu
כֵּן֗֗֗לִי (
also read
לִי); Bö Di
כִּי֗֗֗לְאָ֑יִן. Compare Kö
ii. 1. 236 f.
4. With prefixes: —
a. †בְּלֹא 31 (chiefly in poetry or late), according to the varying significance of בְּ :
(a) usually
with not =
without,
Jeremiah 22:13 בונה ביתו בלאֿ צדק without justice (||
בלא משׁפט; so
Ezekiel 22:29;
Proverbs 16:8),
Isaiah 55:1 (twice in verse);
Proverbs 19:2;
Job 8:11 הֲיִגְאֶהגֹּֿמֶא בְּלֹא בִצָּה without mire ||
כלי מים,
Job 30:28 בְּלֹא חַמָּה (=not
through the sun),
Lamentations 1:6 וילכו בלאכֿח,
Numbers 35:22 בְּלֹא אֵיבָה ֗֗֗ בְּלֹא צְדִיָּה,
Numbers 35:23 (followed by infinitive)
בְּלֹא רְאוֺת,
2 Chronicles 21:20;
Ecclesiastes 10:11;
Psalm 17:1 תְּפִלָּתִי בְּלֹא שִׂפְתֵי מִרְמָה; used more freely in Chronicles,
1 Chronicles 12:18 בְּכַפָּֽי׃ חָמָס בְּלֹא,
1 Chronicles 12:34 בְּלֹא לֵב וָלֵב,
2 Chronicles 30:18 בְּלֹא כַכָּתוּב. With ellipse of rel.,
Lamentations 4:14 בְּלֹא יוּכְלוּ יִגְּעוּ without (that) men are able to touch, etc.
b. הֲלֹא nonne ? Genesis 4:7 + often. Inviting, as it does, an affirmative answer, it is often used,
(
α) especially in conversation, for pointing to a fact in such a way as to arouse the interest of the person addressed, or to win his assent:
Genesis 13:19 [
Genesis 13:9]
Is not the whole land before thee ?
Genesis 19:20;
Genesis 20:5;
Genesis 27:36;
Genesis 29:25;
Exodus 4:11 Who maketh dumb or deaf, etc.
Do not I ?
Exodus 33:16;
Judges 4:6,
14;
Judges 8:2;
Judges 9:28,
38;
1 Samuel 9:20,
21;
1 Samuel 15:17 etc.; with a verb in the 1st person,
Joshua 1:9 הלא צויתיך,
Judges 6:14 הלא שׁלחתיך,
1 Samuel 20:30;
2 Samuel 19:23;
Ruth 2:9: similarly in a poetical or rhetorical style,
Judges 5:30 הלא ימצאו יחלקו שׁלל,
Isaiah 8:19;
Isaiah 10:8,
9,
11;
Isaiah 28:25;
Isaiah 29:17;
Isaiah 40:21,
23;
Isaiah 42:24;
Isaiah 43:19 etc.,
Job 4:6;
Job 4:21;
Job 7:1;
Job 10:10;
Job 10:20, etc.
(
β) it has a tendency to become little more than an affirm. particle, declaring with some rhetorical emphasis what is, or might be, well known:
Deuteronomy 3:11 הֲלֹה הִיא בְרַבַּת בְּנֵי עַמּוֺן,
Deuteronomy 11:30;
1 Samuel 21:12 הלוא זה דוד וג׳ (compare
1 Samuel 29:3,
5;
2 Samuel 11:3),
1 Samuel 23:19;
1 Samuel 26:1;
2 Samuel 15:35; it is thus nearly =
הִנֵּה (
sometimes represents it by
ιδου, as
Joshua 1:9;
Judges 6:14;
Ruth 2:9;
2 Samuel 15:35); so especially in the phrase of the compiler of Kings, And the rest of the acts of...,
הֲלֹא הֵם (הֵמָּה) כְּתוּבִים are they
not written in, etc. ?
1 Kings 11:41;
1 Kings 14:29 + often (with which there interchanges
הִנָּם כְּתוּבִים 1 Kings 14:19;
2 Kings 15:11,
26,
31, which is generally used by the Chronicles,
2 Chronicles 16:11;
20:34, etc.),
Joshua 10:13 (compare
2 Samuel 1:18 הִנֵּה),
1 Kings 8:53 ,
Esther 10:2;
Psalm 56:14 [
Psalm 56:13] (strangely: contr.
Psalm 116:8). —
הֲלֹא הִנֵּה Habakkuk 2:13;
2 Chronicles 25:26 (
הִנָּם). — On
Judges 14:15, see
הֲ 1 end.
d. †
כְּלוֺא Obadiah 16 והיו כלוא היו, poetic for
כאשׁר,
as though they had not been.
Note. — Fifteen times, according to Masora (see De
Psalms 100. 3 Fr
MM 247 Str
Prol. Cr. 84),
לא is written by error for
לוֺ, namely
Exodus 21:8;
Leviticus 11:21;
Leviticus 25:30;
1 Samuel 2:3;
2 Samuel 16:18;
2 Kings 8:10;
Isaiah 9:2;
Isaiah 63:9;
Psalm 100:3;
Psalm 139:16;
Job 13:15;
Job 41:4;
Proverbs 19:7;
Proverbs 26:2;
Ezra 4:2 (always with Qr
לוֺ). The passages must be considered each upon its own merits: in some
לוֺ yields a preferable sense; but this is not the case in all. There is the same
קרי (rightly) on
Isaiah 49:5;
1 Chronicles 11:20; but these were not considered to rest upon equal authority, and are hence not reckoned with the fifteen. — In
Judges 21:22 (see GFM),
1 Samuel 13:13;
1 Samuel 20:14 (twice in verse), and in
Job 9:33 לֹא יֵשׁ, read probably
לֻא for
לֹא.
לוֺ (Kt
1 Samuel 2:16;
1 Samuel 20:2),
לוֺא, see
לֹא.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Unabridged, Electronic Database.
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