STRONGS H518:
Abbreviations
אִם conjunction (= Aramaic
NAe if [and in
HAe ,
אֶלָּא =
H NAe if not, except], Arabic
إِنْ if [and in
إِلاَّ=
إِنْ لاَ if not, except], Ethiopic
እመ፡ (
ěmma)
if =
מָה +
אִם (
مَا +
إِنْ) [and in
አላ፡ (
allâ)
if not, but], Assyrian
umma; also in Arabic
أَمْ 'An?' =
أَإِمْ, compare
הַאִם : see Nö
M p. 208, ZMG 1886, p. 739; W
AG i. § 367 e)
**Onk Jon אִם,
Hag אין.
1. hypothetical particle if.
a. construction (see more fully Dr§ 136-138, 143 FriedrichDie Hebr. Condit. sätze 1884):
(1) with imperfect (continued by perfects & waw consecutive; apodosis usually begins with perfect & waw consecutive or bare imperfect; or, if necessary, with imperative or jussive)
(a) of future time: Genesis 18:26 אִם־אֶמְצָא if I shall find 50 righteous in Sodom, וְנָשָׂאתִי I will pardon, etc., Genesis 24:8; Genesis 32:9; Deuteronomy 19:8f.; 1 Kings 1:52b; 1 Kings 6:12; Psalm 89:31; Genesis 42:37; Judges 13:16; 1 Kings 1:52a Psalm 132:12.
(b) of past time (rare, but classical): Genesis 31:8 אִם יאֹמַר if everhe said... וְיָָֽלְדִוּ then they used to bear, etc., Exodus 40:37; & in the protestations Job 31:7, 13, 16, 25 etc. (alternating with pff., see below, & with jussives in apodosis)
(c) assuming a purely imaginary case (with imperfect in both clauses, like the double optative in Greek), if, though: Genesis 13:16 so that אִם־יוּכַל if a man were able to number the stars, thy seed also יִמָּנֶה might be numbered, Numbers 22:18; Isaiah 1:18 כַּשָּׁנִים יַלְבִּינוּ אִם־יִהְיוּ ח׳ though your sins were as scarlet, they should become white as snow, Amos 9:2-4 אִם־יַחְתְּרוּ though they were to dig into Sheôl, from thence תִּקָּחֵם would my hand fetch them, Psalm 27:3; Psalm 139:8 +.
(2) with participle (expressing either a present process, or an approaching future: apodosis as 1 a) Genesis 24:42, 49; Judges 6:36; Judges 9:15; Judges 11:9 אִם מְשִׁיבִים אַתֶּם if ye are going to bring me back... וְנָתַן י׳ then י׳ will, etc.; similarly with יֵשׁ or אֵין Genesis 44:26; Exodus 22:2; 1 Samuel 20:8; 1 Samuel 23:23; & with no explicit copula Deuteronomy 22:2; Deuteronomy 25:2; Leviticus 1:3, 14, etc.
(3) with perfect.
(a) of future or present time (continued by perfects & waw consecutive: apodosis as 1 a) Genesis 43:9 אִם־לֹא הֲבִיאֹתִיו אֵלֶיךָ וְהִצַּגְתִּיו לְפָנֶיךָ if I do not bring him back (si eum non reduxero) and set him before thee, I will be guilty for ever, Genesis 47:6 if thou knowest that there are men of worth among them וְשַׂמְתָּם then make them, etc., Judges 16:17; 2 Samuel 15:33; 2 Kings 7:4; Psalm 41:7; Psalm 94:18; Job 7:4; Job 9:30f. Job 10:14 אִם חָטָאתִי וּשְׁמַרְתָּ֑נִי if I sin, thou watchest me. On אִם־נָא Genesis 18:3 and elsewhere see נָא.
(b) of past time, whether
(α) in actual fact, or
(β) in an assumed case (the perfect is here continued by the imperfect and waw consecutive; apodosis begins as before).
(a) Judges 9:16-19 עֲשִׂיתֶם⬩⬩⬩אִם if ye have done honestly וַתַּמְלִיכוּ and have made Abimelech king..., 1 Samuel 26:19; especially in protestations, as Psalm 7:4 אִם עָשִׂיתִי זאת if I have done this..., let the enemy pursue my soul, etc. Jeremiah 33:25f.; Job 31:5f.; Job 31:9, etc.
(b) Numbers 5:27 if she have defiled herself וַתִּמְעֹל and been faithless, וּבָאוּ then shall they come, etc., Numbers 15:24; Numbers 35:22-24.
(c) with bare perfect in apodosis, in sense of If... had..., only Deuteronomy 32:30 אִם־לֹא כִּי were it not that..., Psalm 73:15. (לוּ is more usual in such cases.)
(4) with infinitive once (si vera lectio) Job 9:27 אִם אָמְרִי = if I say (literally if (there is) my saying). — Note that the verb following אִם is often strengthened by the infinitive absolute, as Exodus 15:26; Exodus 19:5; Exodus 21:5; Exodus 22:3; Exodus 22:12; Exodus 22:16; Exodus 22:22; Judges 11:30; Judges 14:12; Judges 16:11 etc.; compare DrSm i. 20, 6.
b. Special uses:
(1) repeated ⬩⬩⬩אִם אִם whether... or (sive... sive) Exodus 19:13; Deuteronomy 18:3; 2 Samuel 15:21; similarly וְאִם⬩⬩⬩אִם Genesis 31:52; Jeremiah 42:6; Ezekiel 2:5; Ecclesiastes 11:3; Ecclesiastes 12:14 (compare NAe ⬩⬩⬩NAe , NAev⬩⬩⬩NA PS250; وَإِنْ⬩⬩⬩إِنْ & وَإِمَّا⬩⬩⬩إِمَّا).
(2) After an oath (expressed, or merely implied) אִם (the formula of imprecation being omitted) becomes an emphatic negative, and אִם־לֹא an emphatic affirmative: 2 Samuel 11:11 by thy life אִם־אֶעֱשֶׂה אֶת־הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה (may God bring all manner of evil upon me) if I do this thing! = surely I will not do this thing! (compare the full phrases in 1 Samuel 3:17; 2 Kings 6:31) Genesis 14:23; Genesis 42:15; Numbers 14:23; 1 Samuel 3:14; 1 Samuel 19:6; 2 Kings 2:2; 2 Kings 3:14 & often; Isaiah 22:14; Psalm 89:36; Psalm 95:11; Job 6:28; אִם־לֹא Numbers 14:28; Joshua 14:9; 1 Kings 20:23; 2 Kings 9:26; Isaiah 5:9; Isaiah 14:24; Jeremiah 15:11; Jeremiah 49:20; Job 1:11 — Ezekiel; after a negative clause, emphasizing a contrasted idea, Genesis 24:38 (where the explanation by Aramaic אֶלָּא is not supported by Hebrew usage), compare Jeremiah 22:6. Repeated, וְאִם⬩⬩⬩אִם 2 Samuel 20:20; 2 Kings 3:14; Isaiah 62:8; Jeremiah 38:16; Ezekiel 14:16. In adjurations (with 2nd or 3rd person) = that not Genesis 21:23; Genesis 26:29; Genesis 31:50; 1 Samuel 24:22; 1 Kings 1:51; Songs 2:7; Songs 3:5 +. Of past or present time: 1 Samuel 25:34 as י׳ liveth (I say) that, unless thou hadst hastened..., כִּי אִם נוֺתַר that surely there had not been left...! 1 Samuel 17:55 as thy soul liveth אִם־יָדַעְתִּי if I Know it! 1 Kings 17:12; 1 Kings 18:10 — both אִם־יֵשׁ (כִּי here merely introduces the fact sworn to, & need not be translated; so 2 Samuel 3:35: see כִּי); Psalm 121:2 אִם־לֹא (after a negative clause: compare above Genesis 24:38). compare Str§ 90.
(3) Part, of wishing, if but...! oh that...! (rare) Psalm 81:9 If thou wouldest hearken to me! Psalm 95:7; Psalm 139:19; Proverbs 24:11. compare Exodus 32:32. With an imperative (si vera lectio) Job 34:16 וְאִ־םִֽֽֽבּינָה; and with an anacoluthon, Genesis 23:13 (P) אִם־אַתָּה לוּ שְׁמָעֵנִי if thou! — oh that thou wouldst hear me!
(4) Nearly = when — with the perfect:
(a) of past, Genesis 38:9; Numbers 21:9 וְרָאָה⬩⬩⬩וְהָיָה אִם־נָשַׁךְ and it used to be, if or when a serpent had bitten a man, that he would look, etc., Judges 6:3; Psalm 78:34 (see Dr§ 136 δ Obs.); Amos 7:2.
(b) of present or future, Isaiah 4:4 אִם רָחַץ when the Lord shall have washed, Isaiah 24:13; Isaiah 28:25; compare Numbers 36:4 (with the imperfect).
c. Compounded with other particles: —
(α) בִּלְתִּי אִם except if, except, † Genesis 47:18; Judges 7:14; Amos 3:3, 4.
(β) הֲלוֺא אִם † 2 Kings 20:19 (for which Isaiah 39:7 has sim-ply כִּי), perhaps Is it not (good), if...? (De Di).
(γ) כִּי־אִם, which see.
(δ) עַד אִם † Genesis 24:19, 33; Isaiah 30:17; Ruth 2:21, & עַד אֲשֶׁר אִם Genesis 28:15; Numbers 32:17; Isaiah 6:11, until, properly until if or when.
(ε) רַק אִם if only (see below רַק). אִם־לֹא in Ezekiel 3:6b is very difficult. The Vrss render If I had sent, etc., implying לֻא for אִם־לֹא (for Ew's אִם־לֻא = אִלּוּ, which see, is precarious): Ges Hi Co 'but (אִם־לֹא after a negative, compare above Genesis 24:38; Psalm 131:2) unto them (Israel) have I sent thee: they can understand thee' (but understand is a dubious rendering of שָׁמַע אֶל).
2. Interrogative particle
a. in direct question:
(a) alone (not frequently and usually = Num? expecting the answer No, especially in a rhetorical style): Genesis 38:17; 1 Kings 1:27; Judges 5:8 מָגֵן אִם־יֵרָאֶה וָרֹמַח was there a shield to be seen or a spear...?Isaiah 29:16; and repeated Amos 3:6; Jeremiah 48:27; Job 6:12.
(b) more frequently in disjunctive interrogation:
(α) אִם⬩⬩⬩הֲ, expressing a real alternative Joshua 5:13 הֲלָנוּ אַתָּה אִם־לְצָרֵינוּ art thou for us, or for our enemies? Judges 9:2; 1 Kings 22:6, 15: more often expressing a merely formal alternative, especially in poetry (a rhetorical Num?) Genesis 37:8; Numbers 11:12, 22; Judges 11:25b 2 Samuel 19:36; Isaiah 10:15; Isaiah 66:8; Jeremiah 3:5; Habakkuk 3:8; Psalm 77:10; Psalm 78:20; Job 4:17; Job 6:5, 6; Job 10:4, 5; Job 11:7 etc.
(β) וְאִם⬩⬩⬩הֲ (rarer than אִם⬩⬩⬩הֲ, but similar in use) 2 Samuel 24:13 (a real alt.); Isaiah 49:24; Isaiah 50:2; Jeremiah 5:9 (Jeremiah 5:29 אִם) Jeremiah 14:22; Joel 1:2; Joel 4:4; Job 8:3; Job 11:2; Job 21:4; Job 22:3; Job 34:17; Job 40:8f. (formal); Genesis 17:17 P (with an anacoluthon) shall a child...? וְאִם־שָׂרָה הֲבַת־תִּשְׁעִים שָׁנָה תֵּלֵד or Sarah, — shall she that is 90 years old bear? Proverbs 27:24 (וְאִם after negative clause),
b. in oblique interrogation, if, whether:
(a) alone, after verbs of seeing, inquiring, etc. 2 Kings 1:2; Jeremiah 5:1; Jeremiah 30:6; Malachi 3:10; Psalm 139:24; Cant 7:13; Lamentations 1:12; Ezra 2:59; once מִי יוֺדֵעַ אִם who knoweth if...? i.e. (like haud scio an) perhaps Esther 4:14 (older synonym מִי יוֺדֵעַ alone: see 2 Samuel 12:22; Joel 2:14; Jonah 3:9).
(b) disjunctively אִם⬩⬩⬩הֲ Genesis 27:21; Numbers 13:18-20; so וְאִם⬩⬩⬩אִם Joshua 24:15.
c. compounded with הֲ, הַאִם † Numbers 17:28 [Numbers 17:13] הַאִם תַּמְנוּ לִגְוֺעַ probably an emphatic Num? Shall we ever have finished dying? Job 6:13 difficult: perhaps Is it that my help is not in me? (a forcible means of expressing that that which might be thought impossible is nevertheless the case); Hi as an aposiop., If my help is not in me (am I still to wait) ? (The view that הַאִם = הֲלֹא nonne? is inconsistent with the fact that אִם in a question has regularly the force of Num?)
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Unabridged, Electronic Database.
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BLB Scripture Index of Brown-Driver-Briggs
Genesis
13:16; 14:23; 17:17; 18:3; 18:26; 21:23; 23:13; 24:8; 24:19; 24:33; 24:38; 24:38; 24:38; 24:42; 24:49; 26:29; 27:21; 28:15; 31:8; 31:50; 31:52; 32:9; 37:8; 38:9; 38:17; 42:15; 42:37; 43:9; 44:26; 47:6; 47:18
Exodus
15:26; 19:5; 19:13; 21:5; 22:2; 22:3; 22:12; 22:16; 22:22; 32:32; 40:37
Leviticus
1:3; 1:14
Numbers
5:27; 11:12; 11:22; 13:18; 13:19; 13:20; 14:23; 14:28; 15:24; 17:13; 21:9; 22:18; 32:17; 35:22; 35:23; 35:24; 36:4
Deuteronomy
18:3; 19:8; 22:2; 25:2; 32:30
Joshua
5:13; 14:9; 24:15
Judges
5:8; 6:3; 6:36; 7:14; 9:2; 9:15; 9:16; 9:17; 9:18; 9:19; 11:9; 11:25; 11:30; 13:16; 14:12; 16:11; 16:17
Ruth
2:21
1 Samuel
3:14; 3:17; 17:55; 19:6; 20:8; 23:23; 24:22; 25:34; 26:19
2 Samuel
3:35; 11:11; 12:22; 15:21; 15:33; 19:36; 20:20; 24:13
1 Kings
1:27; 1:51; 1:52; 1:52; 6:12; 17:12; 18:10; 20:23; 22:6; 22:15
2 Kings
1:2; 2:2; 3:14; 3:14; 6:31; 7:4; 9:26; 20:19
Ezra
2:59
Esther
4:14
Job
1:11; 4:17; 6:5; 6:6; 6:12; 6:13; 6:28; 7:4; 8:3; 9:27; 9:30; 10:4; 10:5; 10:14; 11:2; 11:7; 21:4; 22:3; 31:5; 31:7; 31:9; 31:13; 31:16; 31:25; 34:16; 34:17; 40:8
Psalms
7:4; 27:3; 41:7; 73:15; 77:10; 78:20; 78:34; 81:9; 89:31; 89:36; 94:18; 95:7; 95:11; 121:2; 131:2; 132:12; 139:8; 139:19; 139:24
Proverbs
24:11; 27:24
Ecclesiastes
11:3; 12:14
Song of Songs
2:7; 3:5; 7:13
Isaiah
1:18; 4:4; 5:9; 6:11; 10:15; 14:24; 22:14; 24:13; 28:25; 29:16; 30:17; 39:7; 49:24; 50:2; 62:8; 66:8
Jeremiah
3:5; 5:1; 5:9; 5:29; 14:22; 15:11; 22:6; 30:6; 33:25; 38:16; 42:6; 48:27; 49:20
Lamentations
1:12
Ezekiel
2:5; 3:6; 14:16
Joel
1:2; 2:14
Amos
3:3; 3:4; 3:6; 7:2; 9:2; 9:3; 9:4
Jonah
3:9
Habakkuk
3:8
Malachi
3:10