כִּי
that
also: for, because, when, as though fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Conjunction
- A joining word (e.g. “and,” “but”) linking words or clauses.
- Preposition
- A relational word (e.g. “in,” “to,” “from”) governing a noun.
Every verse where H3588 appears in the Book of Numbers — 118 distinct verses. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Numbers
- Numbers 3:13 כִּ֣י conj for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine. I am Yahweh."
- Numbers 5:6 כִּ֤י conj "Speak to the children of Israel: When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against Yahweh, and that soul is guilty;
- Numbers 5:12 כִּֽי conj "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: If any man's wife goes astray, and is unfaithful to him,
- Numbers 5:15 כִּֽי conj then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her offering for her: the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal. He shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to memory.
- Numbers 5:20 כִּ֥י וְ/כִ֣י conj conj + conj But if you have gone astray, being under your husband, and if you are defiled, and some man has lain with you besides your husband:'
- Numbers 6:2 כִּ֤י conj "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: When either man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to Yahweh,
- Numbers 6:7 כִּ֛י conj He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die; because his separation to God is on his head.
- Numbers 6:9 וְ/כִֽי conj + conj "If any man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles the head of his separation; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing. On the seventh day he shall shave it.
- Numbers 6:12 כִּ֥י conj He shall separate to Yahweh the days of his separation, and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a trespass offering; but the former days shall be void, because his separation was defiled.
- Numbers 7:9 כִּֽי conj But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because the service of the sanctuary belonged to them; they carried it on their shoulders.
- Numbers 8:16 כִּי֩ conj For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them to me.
- Numbers 8:17 כִּ֣י conj For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and animal. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for myself.
- Numbers 9:10 כִּי conj "Say to the children of Israel, 'If any man of you or of your generations is unclean by reason of a dead body, or is on a journey far away, he shall still keep the Passover to Yahweh.
- Numbers 9:13 כִּ֣י conj But the man who is clean, and is not on a journey, and fails to keep the Passover, that soul shall be cut off from his people. Because he didn't offer the offering of Yahweh in its appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.
- Numbers 9:14 וְ/כִֽי conj + conj If a foreigner lives among you, and desires to keep the Passover to Yahweh; according to the statute of the Passover, and according to its ordinance, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the foreigner, and for him who is born in the land.'"
- Numbers 10:9 וְ/כִֽי conj + conj When you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets; and you shall be remembered before Yahweh your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.
- Numbers 10:29 כִּֽי conj Moses said to Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, We are journeying to the place of which Yahweh said, I will give it you: come you with us, and we will do you good; for Yahweh has spoken good concerning Israel.
- Numbers 10:30 כִּ֧י conj He said to him, I will not go; but I will depart to my own land, and to my relatives.
- Numbers 10:31 כִּ֣י conj He said, Don't leave us, please; because you know how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and you shall be to us instead of eyes.
- Numbers 10:32 כִּי conj It shall be, if you go with us, yes, it shall be, that whatever good Yahweh shall do to us, the same will we do to you.
- Numbers 11:3 כִּֽי conj The name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of Yahweh burnt among them.
- Numbers 11:12 כִּֽי conj Have I conceived all this people? have I brought them forth, that you should tell me, Carry them in your bosom, as a nursing-father carries the sucking child, to the land which you swore to their fathers?
- Numbers 11:13 כִּֽי conj Whence should I have flesh to give to all this people? for they weep to me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.
- Numbers 11:14 כִּ֥י conj I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.
- Numbers 11:16 כִּי conj Yahweh said to Moses, Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you.
- Numbers 11:18 כִּ֡י כִּי conj conj Say you to the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh; for you have wept in the ears of Yahweh, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore Yahweh will give you flesh, and you shall eat.
- Numbers 11:20 כִּֽי conj but a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome to you; because that you have rejected Yahweh who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
- Numbers 11:29 כִּי conj Moses said to him, Are you jealous for my sake? would that all Yahweh's people were prophets, that Yahweh would put his Spirit on them!
- Numbers 11:34 כִּי conj The name of that place was called Kibrothhattaavah, because there they buried the people who lusted.
- Numbers 12:1 כִּֽי conj Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married; for he had married a Cushite woman.
- Numbers 13:28 כִּֽי conj However the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified, [and] very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
- Numbers 13:30 כִּֽי conj Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
- Numbers 13:31 כִּֽי conj But the men who went up with him said, We aren't able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
- Numbers 14:9 כִּ֥י conj Only don't rebel against Yahweh, neither fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and Yahweh is with us: don't fear them.
- Numbers 14:13 כִּֽי conj Moses said to Yahweh, Then the Egyptians will hear it; for you brought up this people in your might from among them;
- Numbers 14:14 כִּֽי conj and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you Yahweh are in the midst of this people; for you Yahweh are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them, and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night.
- Numbers 14:22 כִּ֣י conj because all those men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I worked in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tempted me these ten times, and have not listened to my voice;
- Numbers 14:30 כִּ֚י conj surely you shall not come into the land, concerning which I swore that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
- Numbers 14:40 כִּ֥י conj They rose up early in the morning, and got them up to the top of the mountain, saying, Behold, we are here, and will go up to the place which Yahweh has promised: for we have sinned.
- Numbers 14:42 כִּ֛י conj Don't go up, for Yahweh isn't among you; that you not be struck down before your enemies.
- Numbers 14:43 כִּי֩ כִּֽי conj conj For there the Amalekite and the Canaanite are before you, and you shall fall by the sword: because you are turned back from following Yahweh, therefore Yahweh will not be with you.
- Numbers 15:2 כִּ֣י conj Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, When you are come into the land of your habitations, which I give to you,
- Numbers 15:8 וְ/כִֽי conj + conj When you prepare a bull for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice, to accomplish a vow, or for peace-offerings to Yahweh;
- Numbers 15:14 וְ/כִֽי conj + conj If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you, or whoever may be among you throughout your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to Yahweh; as you do, so he shall do.
- Numbers 15:22 וְ/כִ֣י conj + conj When you shall err, and not observe all these commandments, which Yahweh has spoken to Moses,
- Numbers 15:25 כִּֽי conj The priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and they shall be forgiven; for it was an error, and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to Yahweh, and their sin-offering before Yahweh, for their error:
- Numbers 15:26 כִּ֥י conj and all the congregation of the children of Israel shall be forgiven, and the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them; for in respect of all the people it was done unwittingly.
- Numbers 15:31 כִּ֤י conj Because he has despised the word of Yahweh, and has broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.
- Numbers 15:34 כִּ֚י conj They put him in custody, because it had not been declared what should be done to him.
- Numbers 16:3 כִּ֤י conj and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take too much on you, seeing all the congregation are holy, everyone of them, and Yahweh is among them: why then lift yourselves up above the assembly of Yahweh?
- Numbers 16:9 כִּֽי conj [seems it but] a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tent of Yahweh, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them;
- Numbers 16:11 כִּ֥י conj Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against Yahweh: and Aaron, what is he who you murmur against him?
- Numbers 16:13 כִּ֤י כִּֽי conj conj is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must needs make yourself also a prince over us?
- Numbers 16:28 כִּֽי כִּי conj conj Moses said, Hereby you shall know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works; for [I have] not [done them] of my own mind.
- Numbers 16:30 כִּ֧י conj But if Yahweh make a new thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain to them, and they go down alive into Sheol; then you shall understand that these men have despised Yahweh.
- Numbers 16:34 כִּ֣י conj All Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them; for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up.
- Numbers 16:37 כִּ֖י conj Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter you the fire yonder; for they are holy,
- Numbers 16:38 כִּֽי conj even the censers of these sinners against their own lives; and let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before Yahweh; therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.
- Numbers 16:46 כִּֽי conj Moses said to Aaron, Take your censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense thereon, and carry it quickly to the congregation, and make atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from Yahweh; the plague is begun.
- Numbers 17:3 כִּ֚י conj You shall write Aaron's name on the rod of Levi; for there shall be one rod for each head of their fathers' houses.
- Numbers 18:24 כִּ֞י conj For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave-offering to Yahweh, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance: therefore I have said to them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
- Numbers 18:26 כִּֽי conj Moreover you shall speak to the Levites, and tell them, When you take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave-offering of it for Yahweh, a tithe of the tithe.
- Numbers 18:31 כִּֽי conj You shall eat it in every place, you and your households: for it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting.
- Numbers 19:13 כִּי֩ conj Whoever touches a dead person, the body of a man who has died, and doesn't purifies himself, defiles the tent of Yahweh; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet on him.
- Numbers 19:14 כִּֽי conj This is the law when a man dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent, and everyone who is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
- Numbers 19:20 כִּי֩ conj But the man who shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of Yahweh: the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
- Numbers 20:24 כִּ֣י conj Aaron shall be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah.
- Numbers 20:29 כִּ֥י conj When all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
- Numbers 21:1 כִּ֚י conj The Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.
- Numbers 21:5 כִּ֣י conj The people spoke against God, and against Moses, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loathes this light bread.
- Numbers 21:7 כִּֽי conj The people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against Yahweh, and against you; pray to Yahweh, that he take away the serpents from us. Moses prayed for the people.
- Numbers 21:13 כִּ֤י conj From there they traveled, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness, that comes out of the border of the Amorites: for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
- Numbers 21:24 כִּ֣י conj Israel struck him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, even to the children of Ammon; for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.
- Numbers 21:26 כִּ֣י conj For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even to the Arnon.
- Numbers 21:28 כִּי conj For a fire is gone out of Heshbon, A flame from the city of Sihon: It has devoured Ar of Moab, The lords of the high places of the Arnon.
- Numbers 21:34 כִּ֣י conj Yahweh said to Moses, Don't fear him: for I have delivered him into your hand, and all his people, and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.
- Numbers 22:3 כִּ֣י conj Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
- Numbers 22:6 כִּֽי כִּ֣י conj conj Please come now therefore curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may strike them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.
- Numbers 22:12 כִּ֥י conj God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.
- Numbers 22:13 כִּ֚י conj Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, Get you into your land; for Yahweh refuses to give me leave to go with you.
- Numbers 22:17 כִּֽי conj for I will promote you to very great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Please come therefore, and curse this people for me.
- Numbers 22:22 כִּֽי conj God's anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of Yahweh placed himself in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
- Numbers 22:28 כִּ֣י conj Yahweh opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?
- Numbers 22:29 כִּ֥י כִּ֥י conj conj Balaam said to the donkey, Because you have mocked me, I would there were a sword in my hand, for now I had killed you.
- Numbers 22:32 כִּֽי conj The angel of Yahweh said to him, Why have you struck your donkey these three times? behold, I am come forth for an adversary, because your way is perverse before me:
- Numbers 22:33 כִּ֥י conj and the donkey saw me, and turned aside before me these three times: unless she had turned aside from me, surely now I had even slain you, and saved her alive.
- Numbers 22:34 כִּ֚י כִּ֥י conj conj Balaam said to the angel of Yahweh, I have sinned; for I didn't know that you stood in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease you, I will get me back again.
- Numbers 22:36 כִּ֣י conj When Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him to the City of Moab, which is on the border of the Arnon, which is in the utmost part of the border.
- Numbers 23:9 כִּֽי conj For from the top of the rocks I see him, From the hills I see him: behold, it is a people that dwells alone, And shall not be reckoned among the nations.
- Numbers 23:23 כִּ֤י conj Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; Neither is there any divination with Israel: Now shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel, What has God done!
- Numbers 24:1 כִּ֣י conj When Balaam saw that it pleased Yahweh to bless Israel, he didn't go, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
- Numbers 24:22 כִּ֥י conj Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted, Until Asshur shall carry you away captive.
- Numbers 25:18 כִּ֣י conj for they vex you with their wiles, with which they have deceived you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.
- Numbers 26:33 כִּ֣י conj Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
- Numbers 26:62 כִּ֣י כִּ֠י conj conj Those who were numbered of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.
- Numbers 26:65 כִּֽי כִּ֚י conj conj For Yahweh had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. There was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
- Numbers 27:3 כִּֽי conj Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against Yahweh in the company of Korah: but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons.
- Numbers 27:4 כִּ֛י conj Why should the name of our father be taken away from among his family, because he had no son? Give to us a possession among the brothers of our father.
- Numbers 27:8 כִּֽי conj You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter.
- Numbers 30:2 כִּֽי conj When a man vows a vow to Yahweh, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
- Numbers 30:3 כִּֽי conj Also when a woman vows a vow to Yahweh, and binds herself by a bond, being in her father's house, in her youth,
- Numbers 30:5 כִּי conj But if her father disallow her in the day that he hears, none of her vows, or of her bonds with which she has bound her soul, shall stand: and Yahweh will forgive her, because her father disallowed her.
- Numbers 30:14 כִּי conj But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows, or all her bonds, which are on her: he has established them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.
- Numbers 32:11 כִּ֥י conj Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:
- Numbers 32:12 כִּ֥י conj save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; because they have wholly followed Yahweh.
- Numbers 32:15 כִּ֤י conj For if you turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and you will destroy all this people.
- Numbers 32:19 כִּ֣י כִּ֣י conj conj For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan, and forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side of the Jordan eastward.
- Numbers 33:51 כִּ֥י conj Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
- Numbers 33:53 כִּ֥י conj and you shall take possession of the land, and dwell therein; for to you have I given the land to possess it.
- Numbers 34:2 כִּֽי conj Command the children of Israel, and tell them, When you come into the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to the borders of it),
- Numbers 34:14 כִּ֣י conj for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their fathers' houses, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to their fathers' houses, have received, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received, their inheritance:
- Numbers 35:10 כִּ֥י conj Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
- Numbers 35:28 כִּ֣י conj because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the manslayer shall return into the land of his possession.
- Numbers 35:31 כִּי conj Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death.
- Numbers 35:33 כִּ֣י כִּי conj conj So you shall not pollute the land in which you are: for blood, it pollutes the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him who shed it.
- Numbers 35:34 כִּ֚י conj You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell: for I, Yahweh, dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.
- Numbers 36:7 כִּ֣י conj So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall cleave everyone to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
- Numbers 36:9 כִּי conj So shall no inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall cleave everyone to his own inheritance.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
כי (kîy) is a Hebrew conjunction most often rendered “that.” Beyond its headline sense, its full sense range takes in “for”, “because”, and “when”. With 3,910 verses in 39 books, it is one of the most common word in the Hebrew Bible. It first appears in Genesis 1:4. For the data behind this summary, explore the sense tree and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3588 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 3,910
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 3,910 distinct verses.
- 39 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 39 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #10
- by frequency
- Top 10 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 10 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 3,910 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 3,910 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 1,823 verses · 47%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 1,160 verses · 30%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 927 verses · 24%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 3 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: That 3×, For 2×, Until 2×
- American Standard Version†: For 6×, That 3×, It 2×
- Berean Standard Bible†: For 1,773×, That 596×, Because 530×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: For 2,227×, That 666×, Because 471×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3588 across 45† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 38 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3588 across 45† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 32 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H3588 across 3,989† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 74 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 484 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3588 across 4,287† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 58 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
18 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 18 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
כי I [m.] burning, branding (for form, cf. רִי from רָוָה, אִי, צִי, עִי
כי II conj. that, for, when (Moab. id.
- 1. that (ὅτι, Germ. dass):
- a. prefixed to sentences depending on an active verb, and occupying to it the place of an accus.: so constantly, after vbs. of seeing, as Gn 1:10 וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים כִּי טוֹב and God saw that it was good, 3:6; 6:2, 5; 12:14 + often, hearing 14:14; 29:33, knowing 22:12; 24:14, telling 3:11; 12:18, repenting 6:6, 7, swearing Gn 22:16 Je 22:5, believing Ex 4:5 La 4:12, remembering ψ 78:35, forgetting Jb 39:15; אָמַר = command (late; in early Heb. the words said are quoted) Jb 36:10, 24) זְכֹר in a command) 37:20b 1 Ch 21:18 (contrast 2 S 24:18) etc.; טוֹב כּי it is good that … 2 S 18:3 + (v. p. 374b: usually the inf. c., as Gn 2:18; v. ibid.); Gn 37:26 מַה־בֶּצַע כִּי נַהֲרֹג what profit that we should slay (impf.) …? Mal 3:14 what profit כִּי שָׁמַרְנוּ that we have kept (pf.) …? Jb 22:3 הַחֵפֶץ לְשַׁדַּי כִּי is it pleasure to Shaddai that …? after a pron., as ψ 41:12 by this I know that thou hast pleasure in me, that my enemy cannot triumph over me, 42:5 these things will I remember … that (or how) I used to go, etc., 56:10 this I know that god is for me, Jb 13:16 (הוא). And with כִּי repeated pleon. after an intervening clause 2 S 19:7 Je 26:15 +; כִּי … וְכִי Gn 3:6; 29:12 Ex 4:31 Jos 2:9; 8:21; 10:1 1 S 31:7 2 S 5:12 1 K 11:21 Je 40:7, 11; לֵאמֹר … וְכִי Gn 45:26 Ju 10:10. e.g. Genesis 1:10
- b. כִּי often introduces the direct narration (like ܕ, أَنْ, and the Gk. ὅτι recitativum, e.g. Luke 4:21), in which case it cannot be represented in English (except by inverted commas), Gn 21:30; 29:33 and she said, כִּי שׁמע י׳ Yahweh hath heard, etc.; Ex 3:12 = Ju 6:16 and he said, כִּי אֶהְיֶה עִמָּ֑ךְ I will be with thee, Jos 2:24 1 S 2:16 (v. Dr) 10:19 and ye have said to him, כִּי מֶלֶךְ תָּשִׂים עָלֵינוּ Thou shalt set a king over us, 2 S 11:23 1 K 1:13; 20:5 Ru 1:10, cf. 2:21 (but in reply to a qu. כִּי may = because, v. sub 3; and so also in sentences giving the expl. of a proper name, Gn 26:22; 29:32 (but De surely: v. infr.), Ex 2:10 (cf. Gn 4:25; 41:51, 52); in כִּי מָה, introducing an expostulation, 1 S 29:8 1 K 11:22 2 K 8:13, it gives the reason for a suppressed ‘Why do you say this?’). e.g. Genesis 21:30
- c. especially after an oath חַי אָ֫נִי, חַי י׳ etc., introducing the fact sworn to, Gn 42:16 by the life of Pharaoh, כִּי מְרַגְּלִים אַתֶּם (I say) that ye are spies; but through Heb. usage prob. gave it an asseverative force, Engl. idiom does not require it to be expressed: Nu 14:22 1 S 20:3 as י׳ liveth, כִּי כִפֶשַׂע בֵּינִי וּבֵין הַמָּוֶת there is but a step between me and death! 26:16; 29:6 Is 49:18 +; 1 S 14:44 כֹּה־יַעֲשֶׂה אֱלֹהִים וְכֹה יוֹסִיף כִּי מוֹת תָּמוּת thus may God do and more also: thou shalt surely die! 2 S 3:35 1 K 2:23 Ru 1:17 al.—Note that כִּי when thus used is often repeated after an intervening clause, in order that its force may be fully preserved: Gn 22:16f. 1 S 14:39 כִּי מוֹת יָמוּת (אִם־יֶשְׁנוֹ בְּיוֹנָתָן בְּנִי) חַי י׳ כִּי 25:34 2 S 2:27 כִּי אָז וג׳ (לוּלֵא דִּבַּרְתָּ) כִּי, 3:9; 15:21 Qr 1 K 1:30 Je 22:24. e.g. Genesis 42:16
- d. כִּי is used sometimes with advs. and interjs. to add force or distinctness to the affirmation which follows: (a) so especially in אַף כִּי (v. אַף); †הֲכִי is it that …? (as a neutral interrrog.) 2 S 9:1, (expecting a neg. answer) Gn 29:15 is it that thou art my brother, and shalt (therefore) serve me for nothing? Jb 6:22 is it that I have said, Give unto me? expressing surprise Gn 27:36 is it that he is called Jacob, and has (hence) supplanted me twice? 2 S 23:19 an affirm. answer is required (wh. would imply הֲלֹא כִי): read prob. with the ‖ 1 Ch 11:25 הִנּוֹ behold, he, etc.; †אִם־לֹא כִּי Dt 32:30 were it not that …; †אָמְנָם כִּי Jb 12:2 of a truth (is it) that ye are the people, etc.; †אַךְ כִּי 1 S 8:9; אֶפֶס כִּי Nu 13:28 +; גַּם כִּי †Ru 2:21; †הֲלֹא כִי 1 S 10:1 (but v. 𝔊 Dr), 2 S 13:28; †הִנֵּה כִי ψ 128:4; cf. ψ 118:10–12 בְּשֵׁם י׳ כִּי אֲמִילַֽם in the name of י׳ (is it) that—or (I say) that—I will mow them down; Jb 39:27 doth the vulture mount up at thy command, וְכִי יָרִים קִנּוֹ and (is it) that it (so) makes high its nest? Is 36:19 have the gods of the nations delivered each his land etc.? … וְכִי הִצִּילוּ i.e. (Hi) and (is it) that they have delivered Samaria out of my hand? > (Ew§ 354 c De Di) and that they have delivered Samaria out of my hand! = how much less (אַף כִּי) have they, etc.! (‖ 2 K 18:34 כִּי alone, perhaps conformed by error to v 35; 2 Ch 32:15 אַף כִּי, which however does not decide the sense of the orig. וְכִי). 1 Ch 29:14 וְכִי מִי read ומי or כי מי. (b) in introducing the apodosis, especially in כִּי עַתָּה (chiefly after לוּלֵא) indeed then …, Gn 31:42; 43:10 for unless we had tarried כִּי עַתָּה שַׁבְנוּ surely then we had returned twice, Nu 22:23 (read לוּלֵי for אוּלַי); so 1 S 14:30 𝔊 (after לוּא), and 13:13 Hi We (לֻא for לֹא); after אִם Jb 8:6 surely then he will awake over thee, etc. (But elsewhere כִּי עַתָּה is simply for now, Gn 29:32 Jb 7:21 +; or for then = for in that case, Ex 9:15 Nu 22:29 Jb 3:13; 6:3 +). It is dub. whether כִּי אָז has the same sense: for 2 S 2:27; 19:7 the כִּי in כִּי אָז may be merely resumptive of the כִּי recitat. preceding (vid. a, c). Rare otherwise: Ex 22:22 if thou afflict him כִּי אִם־צָעֹק יִצְעַק ’tis that (= indeed), if he cries unto me, I will hear him, Is 7:9 if ye believe not כִּי לֹא תֵאָמֵֽנוּ ׃ indeed ye will not be established. e.g. 2 Samuel 9:1
- e. there seem also to be other cases in which כִּי, standing alone, has an intensive force, introducing a statement with emph., yea, surely, certainly (Germ. ja—a lighter particle than these Engl. words): see in EVV Gn 22:17 Ex 18:11 Nu 23:23 1 S 17:25; 20:26 2 K 23:22 Is 32:13; 60:9 Je 22:22; 31:19 Ho 6:9; 8:6; 9:12; 10:3 Am 3:7 ψ 76:11; 77:12 (Ew Che), Pr 30:2 (but not if construed as RVm), Ec 4:16; 7:7, 20 Jb 28:1 +; La 3:22 (𝔖 𝔗 Ew Th Öt) the mercies of י׳, surely they are not consumed (read prob. תַמּוּ or תָֽמְמוּ for תמנו), Ru 3:12 כִּי אָמְנָם yea, indeed. But it is doubtful whether כִּי has this force in all the passages for which scholars have had recourse to it, and whether in some it is not simply = for. De Pr 30:1 would restrict the usage to cases in which a suppressed clause may be understood. e.g. Genesis 22:17
- f. that, expressing consecution, especially after a question implying surprise or deprecation: sq. perf., Gn 20:9 what have I sinned against thee כִּי הֵבֵאתָ עָלַי that thou hast brought on me? 1 S 17:26; 22:8 Is 22:1 what aileth thee, that thou art gone up, etc.? v 16 36:5; 52:5 Mic 4:9 Hb 2:18; sq. ptcp. Ju 14:3 1 S 20:1 1 K 18:9 how have I sinned that thou art giving, etc.? 2 K 5:7 Ez 24:19; usually sq. impf. Ex 3:11 who am I כִּי אֵלֵךְ that I should go, etc.? 16:7 Ju 8:6; 9:28; 2 K 8:13 Is 7:13; 29:16 (also pf.), ψ 8:5 what is man כִּי תִזְכְּרֶנּוּ? Jb 3:12 or why the breasts כִּי אִינָקֽ ׃ that I should suck? 6:11 מַה־כֹּחִי כִּי אֲיַחֵל, 7:12, 17; 10:5f.; 13:25f; 15:12f. 14; 16:3; 21:15 +; after a neg., Gn 40:15 here also I have done nothing כִּי שָׂמוּ that they should have placed me in the dungeon, ψ 44:19f. our heart has not turned backward, etc. כִּי דִכִּיתָנוּ that thou shouldst have crushed us, etc., Is 43:22 not me hast thou called on, כִּי יָגַעְתָּ בִּי that thou shouldst have wearied thyself with me, Ho 1:6 (v. RV), Jb 41:2 Ru 1:12 I am too old to have an husband כִּי אָמַרְתָּי that I should have said, etc. (cf. Ew§337a; Dr§ 39 δ). e.g. Genesis 20:9
- g. added to preps. כִּי converts them, like אֲשֶׁר, into conjs. …, as יַעַן כִּי because that …: v. sub יַעַן, עַד, עַל, עֵקֶב, תַּחַת.
- 2.
- a. Of time, when, of the past וַיְהִי כִּי Gn 6:1 (cf. BuUrg. 6), 26:8; 27:1 2 S 6:13; 7:1; 19:26 + (כַּאֲשֶׁר, and especially כְּ c. inf., are more freq.); וְהָיָה כִּי (simple וְ) 1 S 1:12; 17:48; Jos 22:7 Ju 2:18; 12:5 והיה כי יאמרו and it would be, whenever (freq.) they said, Je 44:19 (ptcp.), Ho 11:1 ψ 32:3 כי החרשׁתר when I was silent, Jb 31:21, 26, 29; of present (usually with impf.) as Ex 18:16 כִּי יִהְיֶה לָהֶם דָּבָר when they have a matter, 1 S 24:20 Is 1:12; 30:21 Je 14:12 Zc 7:5, 6 Mal 1:8 ψ 49:19 and men praise thee כִּי תֵיטִיב לָ֑ךְ when thou doest well to thyself, 102:1; 127:5 +, with pf. Ez 3:19–21; 33:9 Pr 11:15; 23:22; especially of future, as Gn 4:12 כִּי תַעֲבֹד אֶת־הָאֲדָמָה when thou shalt till the ground it shall not, etc., 24:41; 30:33; 31:49; 32:18 Ex 7:9 when Pharaoh shall speak unto you, Dt 4:25; 6:20 +; in phrase (תֹּאמַר וג׳) וְכִי תֹּאמְרוּ Lv 25:20 Dt 18:21 Is 8:19; 36:7 Je 13:22; and especially in וְהָיָה כִּי … Gn 12:12; 46:33 Dt 6:10; 15:16 1 S 10:7; 25:30 Is 8:21; 10:12 + often; with pf. Is 16:12 1 Ch 17:11 (altered from impf. 2 S 7:12); with ptcp. (unusual) Nu 33:51; 34:2 Dt 11:31; 18:9. e.g. Genesis 6:1
- b. elsewhere כִּי has a force approximating to if, though it usually represents a case as more likely to occur than אִם:—(mostly with impf.) Gn 38:16 Nu 5:10; 10:32 Dt 6:25; 7:17; 28:2, 13 1 S 20:13 2 S 19:8 2 K 4:29; 18:22 Je 38:15 Pr 4:8 Jb 7:13 (כי אמרתי when I say), 19:28; often in laws, as Ex 21:14, 33, 35, 37; 22:4, 5 etc., Dt 13:13; 14:24; 15:7, 12; 17:2; 18:6, 21 etc.; sometimes, in particular, to state a principle broadly, after which special cases are introduced by אִם, as Ex 21:2 when (כִּי) thou buyest a Hebrew servant, he shall serve thee six years, after which v 3–5 follow four special cases with אִם if: so 21:7 (כי), v 8–11 (אם); v 18 (כי), v 19 (אם); v 20 (כי), v 21 (אם); v 22 f. 28–32; Lv 1:2 (כי), v 3, 10 (אם) 4:2, 3, 13, 27, 32; 13:2 ff. Nu 30:3 ff. +; though this distinction is not uniformly observed, contrast e.g. Ex 21:5 with Dt 15:16; Nu 5:19 and v 20.—N.B. with כִּי = when or if, the subject is often prefixed for distinctness and emph.: 1 K 8:37 רָעָב כִּי־יִהְיֶה בָאָרֶץ דֶּבֶר כִּי יִהְיֶה וג׳, Is 28:18 Mi 5:4 אַשּׁוּר כִּי־יָבֹא בְאַרְצֵנוּ, ψ 62:11 Ez 3:19 (וְאַתָּה), 14:9, 13; 18:5, 18, 21; 33:6 (cf. v 2); and especially in laws of P, as אָדָם כִּי … Lv 1:2; 13:2, נֶפֶשׁ כִּי … 2:1; 4:2; 5:1, 4, 15, similiarly 15:2, 16, 19, 25; 22:12, 13, 14 etc., rather differently Nu 5:20. e.g. Genesis 38:16
- c. when or if, with a concessive force, i.e. though:—(a) with impf. Je 4:30(×3); 14:12; 49:16 כִּי־תַגְבִּיהַּ כַּנֶּשֶׁר קִנֶּ֑ךָ though thou make high like the vulture thy nest, I will bring thee down thence, 51:53 Ho 13:15 Zc 8:6 ψ 37:24; 49:19 f. though in his lifetime he bless himself … he shall come, etc., perhaps also Je 46:23 Ew (but Hi Gf Ke for), 50:11 Ew Ke (Hi yea); and strengthened by גַּם, גַּם כִּי Is 1:15 ψ 23:4 (cf. Dr§ 143); (b) with perf. (rare) Mi 7:8 כִּי נָפַלְתִּי קָ֑מְתִּי though I have fallen, I rise, Na 1:10 (si vera l.), ψ 21:12 (Hi Ew Now), 119:83 (Ew De). e.g. Jeremiah 4:30
- 3. Because, since (ὅτι)—
- a. Gn 3:14 because thou hast done this, cursed art thou, etc., v 17 18:20 the cry of S. and G.—because it is great … (subj. prefixed for emph.: cf. 2 N.B.) Is 28:15; in answer to a qu., Gn 27:20 Ex 1:19; 18:15 2 S 19:43 +. Enunciating the conditions under which a fut. action is conceived as possible (Germ. indem) Lv 22:9 Dt 4:29 כי תדרשׁנו, 12:20 (v.Dr), v 25, 28; 13:19; 14:24; 16:15; 19:6, 9 +, 1 K 8:35 (cf. v 33 אֲשֶׁר), v 36 כִּי תוֹרֵם, Pr 4:8b. e.g. Genesis 3:14
- b. more commonly the causal sentence follows, as Gn 2:3 and God blessed the seventh day כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת וג׳ because on it he rested, etc., 4:25 etc., in which case it may often be rendered for, Gn 2:5, 23; 3:20; 5:24; 6:7; 12, 13 ψ 6:3 heal me כִּי נִבְהֲלוּ עֲצָמָ֑י for my bones are vexed, 10:14; 25:16; 27:10 + very often Spec. after vbs. expressive of mental emotions, as rejoicing Is 14:29 ψ 58:11, being angry Gn 31:35; 45:5, fearing 43:18 ψ 49:17 etc. Iron. 1 K 18:27 for he is a god etc. (4 times); Pr 30:4 Jb 38:5 כִּי תֵדָ֑ע for or since thou knowest. With subj. prefixed ψ 128:2. Repeated (with anacol.) Is 49:19. e.g. Genesis 2:3
- c. the causal relation expressed by כִּי is sometimes subtle, especially in poetry, and not apparent without careful study of a passage. Thus sometimes it justifies a statement or description by pointing to a pregnant fact which involves it, as Is 3:8a Jb 6:21 (ground of the comparison v 15–20), 14:16 (For …: ground of the wishes expressed v 13–15), 16:22 (ground of v 20 f.) 30:26 (For …), or by pointing to a general truth which it exemplifies Jb 5:6 (reason why complaining v 2–5 is foolish), 15:34; 23:14; sometimes it is explicative, justifying a statement by unfolding the particulars wh. establish or exemplify it 2 S 23:5a Is 1:30; 5:7; 7:8; 9:4; 10:8–11; 13:10 (development of v 9a), 32:6 f. (developing the characters of the נָבָל and כִּילַי, and so explaining why they will no longer be esteemed v 5); Jb 11:16 ff. (explic. of v 15b), 18:8 ff. (justifying v 7), 22:26 ff. (justifying v 25); elsewhere the cause is expressed indirectly or figuratively Is 2:6 (reason why invitation v 5 is needed), 5:10 (sterility of the soil the cause of the desolation v 9), 18:5; 28:8 (proof of the intoxication v 7), 31:7 (reason for the exhortation v 6: the certainty that the folly of idolatry will soon be recognized), Jb 7:21 (for soon it will be too late to pardon), 27:8–10 (Job wishes his enemy the lot of the wicked, because this is so hopeless); or כִּי relates not to the v. which immed. precedes or follows, but to several, as Is 7:16 f. (v 17 specially the ground of the people being reduced to simple fare v 15), 21:6 ff. (ground of the statements v1–5), Jb 4:5 (ground of v 2), 14:7–12 (v 10–12 specially the ground for the appeal in v 6), 23:10–13 (ground why God cannot be found v 8 f.), ψ 73:21 (ground not of v 20, but of general train of thought v 2–14); so also Gn 4:24 Dt 18:14 Is 12:1 Je 30:11 the reason lies not in the words immed. after כִּי, but in the second part of the sentence; or, on the other hand, it may state the reason for a partic. word, Is 28:20 (justifying ‘nought but terror’ v 19), Jb 23:17 (God’s hostility v 16 the cause of his misery, not the calamity as such). Sometimes also כִּי, in a poet. or rhet. style, gives the reason for a thought not expressed but implied, especially the answer to a qu.; Is 28:11 (the mockeries of v 10 have a meaning) ‘for with men of strange lips, etc. he will speak unto this people,’ who will retort the mockeries, charged with a new and terrible meaning, upon those who uttered them (v 13); = (no,) for Is 28:28 (see RVm), Jb 22:2b no, he that is wise is profitable to himself, 31:18; 39:14 (see v 13b), ψ 44:24 (he cannot do this, v 23) for for thy sake are we killed, etc., 130:4 no, with thee is forgiveness; = (yes,) for Is 49:25 (see the qu. v 24), 66:8. e.g. Isaiah 3:8
- d. כִּי … כִּי ἀσυνδέτως sometimes introduce the proximate and ultimate cause respectively, Gn 3:19; 26:7; 43:32; 47:20 Ex 23:33 for [else] thou wilt serve their gods, for it will be a snare to thee, Is 2:6(×2); 3:8(×2); 6:5a, b; 10:22f. Jb 6:3f.; 8:8, 9(×2); 24:17(×2); 29:11f.; sometimes they introduce two co-ordinate causes (where we should insert and), Ex 23:21, 22 Is 6:5b, c I am undone, because I am of unclean lips …, because mine eyes have seen י׳ of hosts, 15:5(×2), 6(×2), 8, 9 Zp 3:8f. Jb 15:25, 27; 20:19f.; 31:11f. But כִּי … וְכִי also occurs, Gn 33:11 Nu 5:20 (if), Jo 1:15 Ju 6:30 1 S 19:4; 22:17 1 K 2:26 Is 65:16 +. e.g. Genesis 3:19
- e. after a neg. כִּי for becomes = but (Germ. sondern): Gn 17:15 thou shalt not call her name Sarai, כִּי שָׂרָה שְׁמָהּ for (= but) Sarah shall be her name, 24:3f.; 45:8 Ex 1:19; 16:8 not against us are your murmurings, כי על־י׳ for (they are) agst. י׳ = but agst. י׳, Dt 21:17 1 S 6:3 (אַל), 27:1 (v. Dr), 1 K 21:15 Is 10:7; 28:27; 29:23; 30:5 ψ 44:8; 118:17 + often; so in לא כי nay, for = nay, but, as Gn 18:15 לֹא כִּי צָחָֽקְתְּ nay, but thou didst laugh, 19:2; 42:12 Jos 5:14 1 S 2:16 MSS 𝔊 (v. Dr), 12:12 2 S 16:18; 24:24 1 K 2:30; 3:22; 11:22 Is 30:16 nay, but we will flee upon horses. e.g. Genesis 17:15
- —כִּי is sometimes of difficult and uncertain interpretation, and in some of the passages quoted a different expl. is tenable. Authorities especially read the Heb. differently, when the choice is between for and yea. E.g. Is 8:23 Ges Ew§ 330 b doch (no, but); Hi Di for (taking v 22 as RVm); Ch surely: 15:1 Ges Ew Hi Di surely; De for: 39:8 Ges Hi De surely; Di for (expl. of טוֹב): Ez 11:16 Hi Ke Co surely; Ew Sm because.—In Ex 20:25 the tense of וַתְּחַלֲלֶהָ makes it prob. that כִּי is for (Dr§ 153). Jb 22:29 is taken with least violence to usage (גַּאֲוָה) as Hi: When they humble thee, and thou sayest (= complainest) Pride! he will save, etc. e.g. Isaiah 8:23
כי III branding, v. sub כוה.
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. n.[m.] burning, branding (for form, cf. רִי from רָוָה, אִי, צִי, עִי: Köii. 1. 64)—only כִּי תַּחַת יֹ֑פִי Is 3:24 branding instead of beauty, in judgment on women of Jerusalem.
II. conj. that, for, when (Moab. id.: Ph. כ. Prob. from the same demonstr. basis found in ܟܳܐ here, and in certain pronouns, as Aramaic דֵּךְ this (WSG 110 f.); perhaps also ultim. akin with كَىْ that, in order that, and ܟܰܝ then, enclit., like Lat. nam in quisnam?)—
III. branding, v. sub כוה.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive particle
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
כְּ־
- prefix, h. (v. כֵּן)
- 1. as, like. Targ. Gen. IX, 3. Targ. Hos. IV, 9; a. v. fr.—Ber. I, 2 כאדם וכ׳ like one reading in the Torah. Ib. 3 כדרכו as usual; a. v. fr.—
- *2. whereas. Tosef. Snh. II, 6 כגוזלייא … וכאימרייא וכ׳ ed. Zuck. (Var. דגוזלייא … ואמרייא, as Snh. 11ᵃ, Y. ib. I, 18ᵈ top) whereas the spring pigeons are yet tender &c.—[Ib. 5 בגוזלייא וכ׳.]—[Compound particles כְּדֵי, כְּוָת &c., v. s. vv. or second component.—ך as affix, frequ. indicating place (כ locale) or instrument, as בָּזָךְ, דוּךְ, אוּשְׁפְּזִיכָא &c.]
כי
- the Greek letter Chi (χ). Men. VI, 3 כמין כי, expl. ib. 75ᵃ כמין כי יוני (Ar. יונית) drawing the figure of a Greek Chi; Tosef. ib. VIII, 8; 10; Ker. 5ᵇ; Hor. 12ᵃ, expl. כמין כף יוני ed. (Ms. M. כי). Kel. XX, 7.
כֵּי
- (= כְּאֵי, v. אֵי III) like which?; כֵּי זֶה צַד, כֵּיזֶה צד how?, in what manner? Tosef. B. Kam. III, 4. Tosef. Ter. I, 5; a. fr. ed. Zuck. (ed. usu. כֵּיצַד).
כִּי
- v. כּ־)
- 1. like. Sot. 35ᵇ כי סיד like lime. Y. Yeb. XVI, end, 16ᵃ כי חיה like a lying-in woman; a. fr.
- 2. when. Ex. R. s. 9, beg. (ref. to Ex. VII, 9) … אם ידבר אלא כי וכ׳ it does not read, ‘if Pharaoh …, but when …; he will say so. R. Hash. 3ᵃ, v. אִי II. e.g. Exodus 7:9
- 3. so, thus. Y. Ḥag. III, 77ᵇ וכי היה המעשה and thus it came to pass. Yeb. VIII, 3 לא כי הלכה וכ׳ (some ed. לא כי אלא וכ׳) it is not so; I am reciting a Halakhah. Shek. I, 4 לא כי אלא וכ׳ it is not so, but &c. B. Kam. 25ᵇ; a. fr.
- 4. for. Yoma 87ᵇ (quoting from a prayer) כי עונותינו וכ׳ for our iniquities are &c.
- 5. וְכִי (introducing a question to which a negative answer is expected) is it really so that? R. Hash. 9ᵃ וכי בתשעה … והלא וכ׳ do we fast on the ninth? Is it not the tenth &c.? Sabb. 4ᵃ וכי אומרים וכ׳ dare we say to a man &c.?; Men. 48ᵃ. Yoma 7ᵃ; a. v. fr.
כִּי ²
- 1. as, like. Targ. Is. XIV, 19, v. יְחַט; a. fr., v. כְּ־.—M. Kat. 28ᵇ מותא כי מותא וכ׳ death like death, i.e. death must naturally ensue, v. חֲבוּלְיָא. Sabb. 140ᵇ. v. אוּרְכָּא.—Kidd. 81ᵃ יומא כי האידנא on a day like this.—כי הא ד־ as that which is told of &c. Pes. 117ᵃ; a. fr.—Ḥag. 2ᵃ, a. fr. דלא כי האי תנא which is not in agreement with the opinion of &c.—B. Kam. 46ᵃ לְכִי הא דאיתמר for a case like the one that is told.—Ned. 49ᵃ, a. fr. כי אתריה, v. אֲתַר.—Hor. 13ᵇ נתקין … כי לדידן let us institute something like that which has been done concerning ourselves; a. fr.
- 2. when. Targ. Y. II, Lev. XXVI, 44; a. fr.—Ḥull. 110ᵃ; B. Bath. 87ᵃ כי סליק וכ׳ when R. El. went to Palestine. Snh. 74ᵃ, a. fr. כי אתא וכ׳ when R. … came (from Palestine).—וכי תימא (abbr. וכ"ת), v. אֲמָא II.—Y. Snh. VII, end, 25ᵈ כי יתבון וכ׳ (not כיי) when they sat down to eat; a. v. fr.—כי היכי a) in order that, v. הֵיכִי.—b) as well as, in the same way as. Taan. 9ᵇ כי ה׳ … הכי וכ׳ as the Babylonians are deceitful, so are their rains; a. fr.—[כַּי, v. כַּיי.]
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 44 distinct written forms H3588 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי | Conjunction | Amos 4:12 | 1,428 |
| כִּ֣י | Conjunction | Amos 3:7 | 821 |
| כִּ֥י | Conjunction | Amos 7:2 | 543 |
| כִּ֤י | Conjunction | Amos 5:5 | 411 |
| כִּי | Conjunction | Amos 7:11 | 397 |
| כִּ֛י | Conjunction | Amos 4:2 | 179 |
| כִּ֚י | Conjunction | Amos 3:7 | 149 |
| כִּי֩ | Conjunction | Daniel 12:7 | 104 |
| כִּ֖י | Conjunction | Daniel 8:17 | 97 |
| כִּ֠י | Conjunction | Amos 9:8 | 68 |
| כִּ֧י | Conjunction | Deuteronomy 7:25 | 54 |
| וְ/כִֽי | Conjunction | Deuteronomy 14:24 | 51 |
| כִּ֗י | Conjunction | Amos 3:14 | 39 |
| כִּ֡י | Conjunction | Amos 4:13 | 22 |
| כִֽי | Conjunction | Deuteronomy 30:1 | 18 |
| וְ/כִ֥י | Conjunction | Deuteronomy 18:21 | 17 |
| כִּ֞י | Conjunction | Deuteronomy 9:5 | 10 |
| וְ/כִ֣י | Conjunction | Genesis 33:11 | 9 |
| וְ/כִ֤י | Conjunction | Exodus 4:31 | 9 |
| כִּ֭י | Conjunction | Job 23:14 | 9 |
| וְ/כִי | Conjunction | 1 Chronicles 10:7 | 8 |
| כִּ֘י | Conjunction | Job 32:5 | 5 |
| וְ/כִ֨י | Conjunction | 1 Chronicles 29:14 | 4 |
| כִי | Conjunction | 1 Samuel 10:14 | 4 |
| וְ/כִ֧י | Conjunction | Genesis 3:6 | 3 |
| וְ/כִי֙ | Conjunction | 2 Samuel 5:12 | 3 |
| כִ֔י | Conjunction | 1 Kings 3:22 | 3 |
| כִּ֝֗י | Conjunction | Proverbs 18:2 | 3 |
| כי | Conjunction | 2 Samuel 16:10 | 3 |
| הֲ/כִ֣י | Conjunction | 2 Samuel 9:1 | 2 |
| כִ֤י | Conjunction | Deuteronomy 24:3 | 2 |
| הֲ/כִי | Conjunction | Genesis 29:15 | 1 |
| הֲ/כִי֩ | Conjunction | Genesis 27:36 | 1 |
| הֲֽ/כִי | Conjunction | Job 6:22 | 1 |
| ו/כי | Conjunction | 2 Samuel 16:10 | 1 |
| וְ֝/כִ֗י | Conjunction | Job 39:27 | 1 |
| כִ֗י | Conjunction | 1 Kings 3:22 | 1 |
| כִ֛י | Conjunction | Isaiah 30:16 | 1 |
| כִ֥י | Conjunction | Leviticus 13:16 | 1 |
| כִּ֨י | Conjunction | Leviticus 22:13 | 1 |
| כִּ֩י | Conjunction | Jeremiah 44:17 | 1 |
| כִּ֪י | Conjunction | Proverbs 23:31 | 1 |
| כִּ֬י | Conjunction | Psalms 96:13 | 1 |
| ל/כי | Preposition | 2 Kings 4:2 | 1 |
Septuagint verse parallels
Most of the 3,910 Hebrew verses this word occurs in also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), so the same passages can be read in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 1:4
- Exodus 1:10
- Leviticus 1:2
- Numbers 3:13
- Deuteronomy 1:17
- Joshua 1:6
- Judges 1:15
- Ruth 1:6
- 1 Samuel 1:5
- 2 Samuel 1:5
- 1 Kings 1:11
- 2 Kings 1:4
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
