Lexical Summary lo: not Original Word: לֹאTransliteration: lo Phonetic Spelling: (lo) Part of Speech: Adverb Short Definition: not Meaning: not, no Strong's Concordance before, or else, ere, except, ignorant, much, less, nay, Or lowi {lo}; or loh (Deut. 3:11) {lo}; a primitive particle; not (the simple or abs. Negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles (as follows) -- X before, + or else, ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (X as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, + of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without. Brown-Driver-Briggs H3808. lo לֹא or לוֺא adverb not (Arabic , Aramaic לָא, , Sabean לא, Ass. lâ; not in Ethiopic: compare Köii. 1. 236 WalkerAJSL 1896, 237 ff.) — לוֺא, according to Masora (FrMM 248), 35 t., besides בְּלוֺא6t., and הֲלוֺא, the orthography of which varies much (ib.p. 251), e.g. in Samuel always הֲלוֺא, in Chronicles always הֲלֹא, on the whole הֲלוֺא141t., הֲלֹא128t.; twice, according to Masora, written לו (Qr לֹא), 1 Samuel 2:16; 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 2:5; b 4:5 etc.) or imperfect (3:4; 8:21-22, etc.); in short circumstantial clauses, as 44:4 הרחיקו לא, Isaiah 40:20 יִמּוֺט לֹא, and with a final force 41:7; Exodus 28:32 (see Ges§ 156. 3 R. b, c Dr§ 162). Governing two closely connected verbs (Dr§ 115, לא) 28:43 וָמֵתוּ עָוֺן יִשְׂאוּ וְלֹא, Leviticus 19:12, 29b Deuteronomy 7:25-26, 19:10; 22:1 and elsewhere; and two parallel clauses (Ges§ 152. 3) Isaiah 23:4b Psalm 9:19; 44:19; Job 3:1 and elsewhere With the imperfect, especially with 2 person, לֹא often expresses (not, like אַל, a deprecation, do not . . ., let not . . ., but) a prohibition, as Genesis 2:17 מִמֶּנּוּ תאֹכַל לֹא thou shall not eat of it, 3:1, 3; Exodus 20:3 לְךָ לֹאיִֿהְיֶה there shall not be to thee, etc., 20:13 תגנב לא, etc. With the coh. 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; 18:14; 1 Kings 2:6; Ezekiel 48:14. (b) with the infinitive (which is negatived by בִּלְתִּי, q. v.), only once, in בְּלֹא (4a), and with לְ, in the sense of cannot, or must not; Judges 1:19 להורישׁ לא כי for it was not (possible) to dispossess, etc. Amos 6:10 י בשׁם ׳להזכיר לא, 1 Chronicles 5:1; 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 וג עוֺד ׳יֵאָמֵר יַעֲקֹב לֹא not Jacob shall thy name be called any more, but Israel, 45:8 אֹתִי שְׁלַחְתֶּם אַתֶּם לֹא Not ye (in our idiom: It is not ye who) have sent me hither, but God, Exodus 16:8; 1 Samuel 8:7 וג אֹתִי כִּי מָאָסוּ ׳אֹתְךָ לֹא כִּי, Psalm 115:17; without a following correcting clause, Genesis 38:9; Numbers 16:29 י ׳לֹא שְׁלָחָנִי׃ Not ׳י (but another) hath sent me, Deuteronomy 32:27 ׳י זֹאת מָּעַל לֹא, 1 Chronicles 17:4; Deuteronomy 8:9; Isaiah 28:28 ֗֗֗ לנצח לא not for ever (but only for a while) . . . (so 57:16; Psalm 9:19; 49:18; 103:9; but Isaiah 13:20 לנצח תשׁב לא is, will not be inhabited for ever), 43:22; Job 13:16; 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 לְהַָבר׃ וְלוֺא לְזָרוֺת לֹא not to winnow, and not to cleanse (but to exterminate), Isaiah 45:13; 48:1b Joshua 24:12; Daniel 11:20, 29; Job 34:20 בְיָד לֹא (but by a Divine agency: compare Daniel 2:34; also Job 20:26 נֻמָּ֑ךְ לֹא אֵשׁ fire not blown upon [but kindled from heaven], Lamentations 4:6; and אין Isaiah 47:14). (d) standing alone: (a) אִםלֹֿא if not, Genesis 18:21 אֵדָֽעָה׃ וְאִםלֹֿא, Genesis 29:49; 42:16; Job 9:24; 24:25; (β) הֲאִ֗֗֗םלֿא, or not, Genesis 24:21 waiting to know י ׳הַהִצְלִיחַ אִםלֹֿא דַּרְכּוֺ, 27:21; 37:32; Exodus 16:4; Numbers 11:23; Deuteronomy 8:2; Judges 2:22 (compare אַיִן אַיִן, אִם 2d β, δ). In answer to a question or request, to deny, or decline, Nay, Nö: 12:5 לא ויאמר, Haggai 2:12; אדני לא Genesis 23:11; 42:10; 1 Samuel 1:15 +; often followed by כי, Nö for . . . = Nö but . . ., Genesis 18:15 צָחָ֑קְתְּ כִּי לֹא ויאמר, 19:2; Joshua 5:14; 24:21; 1 Samuel 2:16 Qr (see Dr), 10:19 (ᵐ5 MSS), 2 Samuel 16:18; 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 Dr1 Samuel 11:12): Jonah 4:11 וג אָחוּס לֹא חַסְתָּוַ֗֗֗אֲנִי ׳אַתָּה, Job 2:10; 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), 11:5 (Ew), Job 14:16b (but ᵐ5 Ew Di תַעֲבֹר), Lamentations 1:12 (Ew Ke), 3:36 (Ke Bä). b. with adjectives and substantive: (a) Genesis 2:18 לְבַדֹּו הָאָדָם הֱֶיוֺת טוֺב לֹא not good is man's being alone, Exodus 18:17 + often (b) 4:16 אָנֹכִי דְּבָרִים אִישׁ לֹא, Amos 7:14 אנכי נביא לא, Numbers 23:9 וִיכַזֵּב אֵל אִישׁ לֹא, Deuteronomy 17:15 (see אשׁר 2 b) Deuteronomy 20:20; 32:47; 1 Samuel 15:29; 2 Samuel 18:20 הַיּוֺם אַתָּה בְּשׂרָה אִישׁ לֹא, 21:2; 1 Kings 22:33; 2 Kings 6:19 הדרך זִה לא, Micah 2:10; Isaiah 27:11; Hosea 8:6; אלהים לא והמה Jeremiah 2:11; 16:20; 2 Kings 19:18; 1 Kings 19:11 (twice in verse) י ׳בָרַעַשׁ לֹא, Deuteronomy 30:12-13, Job 15:9; 28:14 הִיא בִי לֹא ("" עִמָּדִי אֵין)s, Psalm 74:9; Jeremiah 5:10 לי ׳לוא המה, 10:16; Deuteronomy 32:21 בָּם אֵמוּן לֹא בָּנִים, Jeremiah 10:14; Habakkuk 1:14; Job 16:17; 38:26 בּוֺ אָדָם לֹא מִדְבָּר; 1 Kings 22:17 לָאֵלֶּה אֲדֹנִים לֹא, Jeremiah 49:31; Psalm 22:3 לִי דוּמִיָּה וְלֹא, Job 18:17, 19; 29:12 לו עֹזֵר ולא, 30:13; 33:9; Jeremiah 2:19 אֵלַיִךְ פַחְדָּתִי וְלֹא and (that) my terror reached not unto thee, Job 21:9; absolute Genesis 29:7 הַמִּקְנֶה הֵאָסֵף לֹאעֵֿתִ (Haggai 1:2), Numbers 20:5; 2 Kings 4:23 שׁבת ולא חדשׁ לא, Isaiah 44:9; Jeremiah 5:12 הוא לוא ויאמרו, Job 9:32; 22:16; 36:26; 41:2; Proverbs 19:7 (si vera lectio) לֹאהֵֿמָּה אֲמָרִים מְרַדֵּף words which are not, which are nought. (c) with the participle לֹא is rare, a finite verb being usually preferred (Exodus 34:7 יְנַקֶּה לֹא וְנַקִּה: Ew§ 320 c Dr§ 162): 2 Samuel 3:34 אֲסֻרוֺת לֹא יָדֶיךָ, Ezekiel 4:14; 22:24; Deuteronomy 28:61; Psalm 38:15 שֹׁמֵעַ לֹא אֲשֶׁר כְּאִישׁ who is not hearing, Job 12:3; 13:2 מִכֶּם אָנֹכִי נֹפֵל לֹא, Zephaniah 3:5 (very anomalous); 1 Kings 10:21 לא is probably textual error In לוֺ שׂנֵא לֹא וְהוּא or לו הוא שׂנא לא, Deuteronomy 4:42; 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: a. coupled to an adjective to negative it, like the Greek ἀ-, but usually by way of litotes: Hosea 13:13 לאחֿכם בן an unwise son, Psalm 36:5 טוֺב לֹא דֶּרֶךְ a way not good, 43:1 חסיד לא גוי, Proverbs 16:29; 30:25-26, Ezekiel 20:25; 2 Chronicles 30:17 : Isaiah 16:14 כַבִּיר לוֺא, compare 10:7 מְעַט לֹא. b. with a participle Jeremiah 2:2 זרועה לא ארץ, 18:15 (the finite verb is more common: see Isaiah 62:12 נֱעֶזָ֫בָה לֹא עִיר (compare 54:11), Jeremiah 6:8 נוֺשָׁ֫בָה לוֺא אֶרֶץ, 15:18; 22:6; 31:18; Zephaniah 2:1). c. Genesis 15:13 להם לא בארץ, Jeremiah 5:19; Habakkuk 1:6 לֹאלֿוֺ מִשְׁכָּנוֺת, Proverbs 26:17 לֹאלֿוֺ רִיב. 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(?). 17. 21 a they made me jealous אֵל בְּלֹא with a not-God (with what in no respect deserved the name of God), vb עָם בְּלֹא i.e. with an unorganized horde, Amos 6:13 דָבָר לְלֹא הַשְּׂמֵחִים i.e. at a thing which is not, an unreality (of their boasted strength), Isaiah 10:15 עֵץ לֹא מַטֶּה כְּהָרִים like a rod's lifting up what is no wood (but the agent wielding it), 31:8 אדם לא חרב אישׁ, לא חרב, 55:2 לחם בלוא for what is not bread, לשׂבעה בלוא for what is not for satiety, Jeremiah 5:7 אֱלֹהִים בְּלֹא וַיּשָּֽׁבְעוּ by not-gods, in late prose 2 Chronicles 13:9 אֱלֹהִים לְלֹא כֹּהֵן; Psalm 44:13 בְּלֹאהֿוֺן עַמְּךָ תִּמְכֹּר for no-value (i.e. cheaply), Proverbs 13:23; Job 10:12 סְדָרִים וְלֹא צלמות darkness and disorder; so לֹאעַֿמִּי Hosea 1:9; Hosea 2:25: still more pregnantly Job 26:2 a לְלֹאכֹֿחַ מֶהעָֿזַרְתָּ (poetic for כח לו אין לאשׁר) the powerless, 26:2b; 26:3a (Ew§ 286 g Ges§ 152. 1 n.), 39:16 לָהּ לְלֹא בָּנֶיהָ הִקְשִׁיחַ useth hardly her young ones (making them) into none of hers; and even Habakkuk 2:6 לֹאלֿוֺ הַמַּרְבֶּה what is not his own (compare Job 18:15 לוֺ מִבְּלִי). compare with a verb, and ellipse of אשׁר, Isaiah 65:1 שָׁאָ֑לוּ לְלֹא to those who have not asked, vb Jeremiah 2:8 יוֺעִילוּ לֹא אַחֲרִי, 2:11b; also רֻחָ֫מָה לֹא Hosea 1:6, 8; Hosea 2:25, and probably Job 31:31 נִשְׂבָּ֑ע לֹא (perfect in p.) one not satisfied. e. in circumstantial clauses (Dr§ 164), in poetry and rare: qualifying a substantive, 2 Samuel 23:4 עָבוֺת לֹא בֹּקֶר a morning without clouds, Job 12:24 דֶרֶךְ לֹא בְּתֹהוּ in a pathless waste, 38:26a; and a verb 34:24 חֵקֶר לֹא כַּבִּרִים יָרֹעַ without inquiry, Psalm 59:4 חטאתי ולא פשׁעי לא (compare 59:4 עון בלי), in late prose, twice, 1 Chronicles 2:30, 32 בנים לא וימת (אֵין and בְּלִי, q. v., are more usual in such cases). 3 Once (according to many MSS), as a substantive, Job 6:21 לֹא הֱיִיתֶם כִּיעַֿתָּה for now are ye become nothing, Hi De Kö (compare Daniel 4:32 (Aramaic) ᵑ7 חֲשִׁיבִין, כְּלָה here הֲוֵיתוּן כְּלָא, 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 אַכְזָב נַחַל of 24:15]; but even לוֺ yields a forced sense; and text is probably wrong: Mich Ew Ol Sgf Bu כֵּןלִ֗֗֗י (ᵑ6 ᵐ5 also read לִי); Bö Di כִּילְ֗֗֗אָ֑יִן. compare Köii. 1. 236 f. 4 With prefixes: — a. בְּלֹא31 (chiefly in poetry or late), according to the varying significance of בְּ: (a) usually with not = without, Jeremiah 22:13 צדק בלאֿ ביתו בונה without justice ("" משׁפט בלא; so Ezekiel 22:29; Proverbs 16:8), Isaiah 55:1 (twice in verse); Proverbs 19:2; Job 8:11 בִצָּה בְּלֹא הֲיִגְאֶהגֹּֿמֶא without mire "" מים כלי, 30:28 חַמָּה בְּלֹא (=not through the sun), Lamentations 1:6 בלאכֿח וילכו, Numbers 35:22 צְדִיָּה בְּלֹא ֗֗֗ אֵיבָה בְּלֹא, 35:23 (followed by infinitive) רְאוֺת בְּלֹא, 2 Chronicles 21:20; Ecclesiastes 10:11; Psalm 17:1 מִרְמָה שִׂפְתֵי בְּלֹא תְּפִלָּתִי; used more freely in Chronicles, 1 Chronicles 12:18 בְּכַמָּֽי׃ חָמָס בְּלֹא, v.12:34 וָלֵב לֵב בְּלֹא, 2 Chronicles 30:18 כַכָּתוּב בְּלֹא. With ellipse of rel., Lamentations 4:14 יִגְּעוּ יוּכְלוּ בְּלֹא without (that) men are able to touch, etc. (b) of time, in not, i.e. outside of, Leviticus 15:25 עֶתנִֿדָּתָהּ בלא, before Job 15:32 בלאיֿומו, Ecclesiastes 7:17 עִתֶּךְ׃ בְּלֹא. (c) where לֹא belongs to the following word, and is only accidentally preceded by ב (see above 2d), Deuteronomy 32:21 (twice in verse); Jeremiah 5:7; Proverbs 13:23 משׁפט בלא through injustice; with בְּ pretii, Psalm 44:13; Isaiah 55:2 (twice in verse); Jeremiah 2:11 יוֺעִיל בְּלוֺא for (that which) profiteth not. b. הֲלֹא nonne ? Genesis 4:7 + often Inviting, as it does, an affirmative answer, it is often used, (a) 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 Is not the whole land before thee ? 19:20; 20:5; 27:36; 29:25; Exodus 4:11 Who maketh dumb or deaf, etc. Do not I ? 33:16; Judges 4:6, 14; 8:2; 9:28, 38; 1 Samuel 9:20-21, 15:17 etc.; with a verb in 1person, Joshua 1:9 צויתיך הלא, Judges 6:14 שׁלחתיך הלא, 1 Samuel 20:30; 2 Samuel 19:23; Ruth 2:9: similarly in a poetical or rhetorical style, Judges 5:30 שׁלל יחלקו ימצאו הלא, Isaiah 8:19; 10:8-9, 11; 28:25; 29:17; 40:21, 23; 42:24; 43:19 etc., Job 4:6; 4:21; 7:1; 10:10; 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 עַמּוֺן בְּנֵי בְרַבַּת הִיא הֲלֹה, 11:30; 1 Samuel 21:12 וג דוד ׳זה הלוא (compare 29:3, 5; 2 Samuel 11:3), 23:19; 2Sam 26:1; 15:35; it is thus nearly = הִנֵּה (ᵐ5 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 . . ., כְּתוּבִים (הֵמָּה) הֵם הֲלֹא are they not written in, etc. ? 1 Kings 11:41; 14:29 + often (with which there interchanges כְּתוּבִים הִנָּם 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 ᵐ5, Esther 10:2; Psalm 56:14 (strangely: contr. Psalm 116:8). — הִנֵּה הֲלֹא Habakkuk 2:13; 2 Chronicles 25:26 (הִנָּם). — On Judges 14:15, see הֲ 1 end. c. וָלֹ֕א and not=and if not, 2 Samuel 13:26; 2 Kings 5:17. compare וָּיֵשׁ. d. כְּלוֺא Obadiah 16 היו כלוא והיו, poetic for כאשׁר, as though they had not been. e. לְלֹא without, literally in the condition of no . . . 2 Chronicles 15:3 (compare לְאֵין, also in Chronicles). Elsewhere לא belongs to the following word, Amos 6:13; 2 Chronicles 13:9; Isaiah 65:1 (twice in verse); Job 26:2-3, 39:16 (see above 2d). Note. — Fifteen times, according to Masora (see DePsalms 100. 3 FrMM 247 StrProl. Cr. 84), לא is written by error for לוֺ, namely Exodus 21:8; Leviticus 11:21; 25:30; 1 Samuel 2:3; 2 Samuel 16:18; 2 Kings 8:10; Isaiah 9:2; 63:9; Psalm 100:3; 139:16; Job 13:15; 41:4; Proverbs 19:7; 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; 20:14 (twice in verse), and in Job 9:33 יֵשׁ לֹא, read probably לֻא for לֹא. לוֺ (Kt 1 Samuel 2:16; 20:2), לוֺא, see לֹא. לָא (לָה Daniel 4:32) adverb not (Biblical Hebrew לא; Aramaic of Têma, Egyptian, etc., לא; Nerab ל (Lzb301 CookG1. 67); לָא ᵑ7; Syriac ); — not Jeremiah 10:11; Daniel 2:5, 9, 10, etc.; before a participle (so rarely in Biblical Hebrew, 1b c), Daniel 2:27, 43; 3:16; 4:4; 4:6; 4:15 +, so 4:32 חֲשׁיבִין כְּלָה אַרְעָא וְכָלדָּֿאְרֵי; are as men not accounted of (so Bev Behrm Marti, compare Isaiah 53:8 חשׁיבין ולא בסירין ᵑ7; > most 'accounted as nothing,' for which no analogy, yet compare Psalm 39:6 ᵑ7); followed by אִיתַי, see אִיתַי. With infinitive and לְ Daniel 6:9 לִהַשְׁנָיָה לָא דִּי which it is not to alter = which is not to be altered (compare 6:16), Ezra 6:8 (K§ 67, 1 Dr§ 202, 2.; compare Isaiah 35:6 ᵑ7, DAramaic Dialektproben, p. 1). With interr. הֲלָא Daniel 3:24; 4:27; 6:13. |