לֹא
not
‘not’ is one of 6 main senses 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
- Particle
- A short function word — article, negation, interrogative, the sign of the direct object, and the like.
Noun type
- Proper
- A name of a specific person, place, or people (e.g. Abraham, Zion, Israel).
Every verse where H3808 appears in the Book of Esther — 23 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.
Esther
- Esther 1:15 לֹֽא ptcl neg What shall we do to the queen Vashti according to law, because she has not done the bidding of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?
- Esther 1:16 לֹ֤א ptcl neg Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen has not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the peoples who are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.
- Esther 1:17 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg For this deed of the queen will come abroad to all women, to make their husbands contemptible in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she didn't come.
- Esther 1:19 וְ/לֹ֣א לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg ptcl neg If it please the king, let there go forth a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it not be altered, that Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate to another who is better than she.
- Esther 2:10 לֹא לֹא ptcl neg ptcl neg Esther had not made known her people nor her relatives; for Mordecai had charged her that she should not make it known.
- Esther 2:14 לֹא ptcl neg In the evening she went, and on the next day she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, who kept the concubines: she came in to the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and she were called by name.
- Esther 2:15 לֹ֤א ptcl neg Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in to the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. Esther obtained favor in the sight of all those who looked at her.
- Esther 3:2 לֹ֥א וְ/לֹ֥א ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg All the king's servants, who were in the king's gate, bowed down, and did reverence to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai didn't bow down, nor did him reverence.
- Esther 3:4 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily to him, and he didn't listen to them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand: for he had told those who he was a Jew.
- Esther 4:4 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg Esther's maidens and her chamberlains came and told it her; and the queen was exceedingly grieved: and she sent clothing to clothe Mordecai, and to take his sackcloth from off him; but he didn't receive it.
- Esther 4:11 לֹֽא לֹ֤א ptcl neg ptcl neg All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whoever, whether man or woman, shall come to the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law for him, that he be put to death, except those to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.
- Esther 4:16 לֹֽא ptcl neg Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast you for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so will I go in to the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
- Esther 5:9 וְ/לֹא וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg Then went Haman forth that day joyful and glad of heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he didn't stand up nor move for him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai.
- Esther 5:12 לֹא ptcl neg Haman said moreover, Yes, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and tomorrow also am I invited by her together with the king.
- Esther 6:3 לֹא ptcl neg The king said, What honor and dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this? Then the king's servants who ministered to him said, "Nothing has been done for him."
- Esther 6:13 לֹא ptcl neg Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, be of the seed of the Jews, you shall not prevail against him, but shall surely fall before him.
- Esther 9:2 לֹא ptcl neg the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them was fallen on all the peoples.
- Esther 9:10 לֹ֥א ptcl neg the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jew's enemy, killed they; but they didn't lay their hand on the spoil.
- Esther 9:15 לֹ֥א ptcl neg The Jews who were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and killed three hundred men in Shushan; but they didn't lay their hand on the spoil.
- Esther 9:16 לֹ֥א ptcl neg The other Jews who were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and killed of those who hated them seventy-five thousand; but they didn't lay their hand on the spoil.
- Esther 9:27 וְ/לֹ֣א conj + ptcl neg the Jews ordained, and took on them, and on their seed, and on all such as joined themselves to them, so that it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to the writing of it, and according to the appointed time of it, every year;
- Esther 9:28 לֹ֤א לֹא ptcl neg ptcl neg and that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memory of them perish from their seed.
- Esther 10:2 הֲ/לוֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg All the acts of his power and of his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
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.
At its core, לא (lôʼ) means “not.” Where the King James Version says “not,” newer translations reach for “no” (Berean Standard Bible); the renderings breakdown has the detail. It appears 3,966 verses across 39 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its most common vocabulary. First canonically at Genesis 2:5, it enters the text early. Carrying more than one sense, it rewards its full sense range. Each statement above links to its evidence; the full detail follows below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3808 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 →
- 3,966
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 3,966 distinct verses.
- 39 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 39 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #8
- by frequency
- Top 10 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 8 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 3,966 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Jeremiah 361 verses 9%
- Deuteronomy 305 verses 8%
- Isaiah 275 verses 7%
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 3,966 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 1,865 verses · 47%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 1,052 verses · 27%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 1,049 verses · 26%
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).
- King James Version: Not 5×, Except 3×, Without 3×
- American Standard Version: Not 5×, Before 3×, Except 3×
- Berean Standard Bible: No 378×, Not 369×, Will not 207×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Not 4,071×, And 807×, But 248×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3808 across 73 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 42 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 3 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3808 across 72 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 46 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 H3808 across 4,657 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 377 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 456 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3808 across 6,227 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 138 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
17 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 17 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.
- 1. in predication:
- a. with a verb; so most freq., and nearly always (a) with the finite tenses, whether pf. (Gn 2:5b; 4:5 etc.) or impf. (3:4; 8:21, 22 etc.); in short circumst. clauses, as Gn 44:4 לא הרחיקו, Is 40:20 לֹא יִמּוֹט, and with a final force 41:7 Ex 28:32 (v. Ges§ 156. 3 R. b, c Dr§ 162). Governing two closely connected verbs (Dr§115, לא) Ex 28:43 וְלֹא יִשְׂאוּ עָוֹן וָמֵתוּ, Lv 19:12, 29 b Dt 7:25, 26; 19:10; 22:1 al.; and two parallel clauses (Ges§ 152. 3) Is 23:4b ψ 9:19; 44:19 Jb 3:11 al. With the impf., especially with 2 ps., לֹא often expresses (not, like אַל, a deprecation, do not …, let not …, but) a prohibition, as Gn 2:17 לֹא תֹאכַל מִמֶּנּוּ thou shalt not eat of it, 3:1, 3 Ex 20:3 לֹא־יִהְיֶה לְךָ there shall not be to thee, etc., v 13 לא תגנב, etc. With the coh. and juss. moods (which are negatived regularly by אַל), it occurs only exceptionally (Ges§109. 1 b R. 1), Gn 24:8 1 S 14:36 2 S 17:12; 18:14 1 K 2:6 Ez 48:14. (b) with the inf. (which is negatived by בִּלְתִּי, q.v.), only once, in בְּלֹא (4 a), and with לְ, in the sense of cannot, or must not; †Ju 1:19 כי לא להורושׁ for it was not (possible) to dispossess, etc. Am 6:10 לא להזכיר בשׁם י׳, 1 Ch 5:1; 15:2 (Dr§ 202. 2); cf. Aramaic לָא Dan 6:9 Ezr 6:8. On its use with the ptcp., see b c. (c) לא always negatives properly the word immed. following: hence, in a verbal sentence, where this is not the verb, some special stress rests upon it, Gn 32:29 לֹא יַעֲקֹב יֵאָמֵר עוֹד וג׳ not Jacob shall thy name be called any more, but Israel, 45:8 לֹא אַתֶּם שְׁלַחְתֶּם אֹתִי Not ye (in our idiom: It is not ye who) have sent me hither, but God, Ex 16:8 1 S 8:7 כִּי לֹא אֹתְךָ מָאָסוּ כִּי אֹתִי וג׳, ψ 115:17; without a foll. correcting clause, Gn 38:9 Nu 16:29 לֹא י׳ שְׁלָחָנִי ׃ Not י׳ (but another) hath sent me, Dt 32:27 לֹא י׳ פָּעַל זֹאת, 1 Ch 17:4 Dt 8:9 Is 28:28 לא לנצח … not for ever (but only for a while) … (so 57:16 ψ 9:19; 49:20; 103:9; but Is 13:20 לא תשׁב לנצח is, will not be inhabited for ever), Is 43:22 Jb 13:16; 32:9; hence rhetorically, insinuating something very different, not named, 2 K 6:10 not once, and not twice (but repeatedly), Ezr 10:13 Je 4:11 a wind לֹא לְזָרוֹת וְלוֹא לְהָבַֽר׃ not to winnow, and not to cleanse (but to exterminate), Is 45:13; 48:1b Jos 24:12 Dn 11:20, 29 Jb 34:20 לֹא בְיָד (but by a Divine agency: cf. Dn 2:34; also Jb 20:26 אֵשׁ לֹא נֻפָּ֑ח fire not blown upon [but kindled from heaven], Lam 4:6; and אין Is 47:14). (d) standing alone: (a) אִם־לֹא if not, Gn 18:21 וְאִם־לֹא אֵדָֽעָה׃, 24:49; 42:16 Jb 9:24; 24:25; (β) הֲ … אִם־לֹא, or not, Gn 24:21 waiting to know הַהִצְלִיחַ י׳ דַּדְכּוֹ אִם־לֹא, 27:21; 37:32 Ex 16:4 Nu 11:23 Dt 8:2 Ju 2:22 (cf. אִם אַיִן, אַיִן 2 d β, δ). In answer to a question or request, to deny, or decline, Nay, No: Ju 12:5 ויאמר לא, Hg 2:12; לא אדני Gn 23:11; 42:10 1 S 1:15 +; often sq. כי, No: for … = No: but …, Gn 18:15 ויאמר לֹא כִּי צָחָ֑קְתְּ, 19:2 Jos 5:14; 24:21; 1 S 2:16 Qr (v. Dr), 10:19 (𝔊 MSS), 2 S 16:18; 24:24 1 K 3:22(×2) +; Jb 23:6 (strangely). (Cf., in deprecation, אַל.) (e) with an interrog. 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 (cf. וְ 1 f; Ew§ 324 a Ges§ 150. 1 Dr 1 S 11:12): Jon 4:11 אַתָּה חַסְתָּ … וַאֲנִי לֹא אָחוּס וג׳, Jb 2:10; 22:11; Ex 8:22; 2 K 5:26 Je 49:9 (‖ Ob 5 הֲלוֹא), Mal 2:15 La 3:38; and in passages, exeg. or text. doubtful (v. Comm.), 1 S 20:14 2 S 23:5 (but v. Bu), Ho 10:9 (Ew We), 11:5 (Ew), Jb 14:16b (but 𝔊 Ew Di תַעֲבֹר), La 1:12 (Ew Ke), 3:36 (Ke Bä). e.g. Genesis 2:5
- b. with adjs. and substs.: (a) Gn 2:18 לֹא טוֹב הֱיוֹת הָאָדָם לְבַדּוֹ not good is man’s being alone, Ex 18:17 + often (b) Ex 4:16 לֹא אִישׁ דְּבָרִים אָנֹכִי, Am 7:14 לא נביא אנכי, Nu 23:19 לֹא אִישׁ אֵל וִיכַזֵּב, Dt 17:15 (v. אשׁר 2 b) 20:20; 32:47 1 S 15:29 2 S 18:20 לֹא אִישׁ בְּשֹׂרָה אַתָּה הַיּוֹם, 21:2 1 K 22:33 2 K 6:19 לא זֹה הדרך, Mi 2:10 Is 27:11 Ho 8:6; והמה לא אלהים Je 2:11; 16:20 2 K 19:18; 1 K 19:11(×2) לֹא בָרַעַשׁ י׳, Dt 30:12, 13 Jb 15:9; 28:14 לֹא בִי הִיא (‖ אֵין עִמָּדִי), ψ 74:9 Je 5:10 לוא לי׳ המה, 10:16; Dt 32:21 בָּנִים לֹא אֵמוּן בָּם, Je 10:14 Hb 1:14 Jb 16:17; 38:26 מִדְבָּר לֹא אָדָם בּוֹ; 1 K 22:17 לֹא אֲדֹנִים לָאֵלֶּה, Je 49:31 ψ 22:3 וְלֹא דוּמִיָּה לִי, Jb 18:17, 19; 29:12 ולא עֹזֵר לו, 30:13; 33:9; Je 2:19 וְלֹא פַחְדָּתִי אֵלַיִךְ and (that) my terror reached not unto thee, Jb 21:9; abs. Gn 29:7 לֹא־עֵת הֵאָסֵף הַמִּקְנֶה (Hg 1:2), Nu 20:5 2 K 4:23 לא חדשׁ ולא שׁבת, Is 44:19 Je 5:12 ויאמרו לוא הוא, Jb 9:32; 22:16; 36:26 (?) 41:2; Pr 19:7 (si vera l.) מְרַדֵּף אֲמָרִים לֹא־הֵמָּה words which are not, which are nought. (c) with the ptcp. לֹא is rare, a finite vb. being usually preferred (Ex 34:7 וְנַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה: Ew§ 320 c Dr§ 162): 2 S 3:34 יָדֶיךָ לֹא אֲסֻרוֹת, Ez 4:14; 22:24 Dt 28:61 ψ 38:15 כְּאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא שֹׁמֵעַ who is not hearing, Jb 12:3; 13:2 לֹא נֹפֵל אָנֹכִי מִכֶּם, Zp 3:5 (very anom.); 1 K 10:21 לא is prob. textual error. In וְהוּא לֹא שֹׂנֵא לוֹ or לא שׂנא הוא לו, Dt 4:42; 19:4, 6 Jos 20:5 (cf. אֹיֵב Nu 35:23), שׂנֵא is best construed as a subst., he being a not-hater to him aforetime.—In most of the cases under b, c, אין could have been employed; but the negation by לֹא is more pointed and forcible. e.g. Genesis 2:18
- 2. Not in predication:
- a. coupled to an adj. to negative it, like the Gk. ἀ—, but usually by way of litotes: Ho 13:13 בן לא־חכם an unwise son, ψ 36:5 דֶּרֶךְ לֹא טוֹב a way not good, 43:1 גוי לא חסיד, Pr 16:29; 30:25, 26 Ez 20:25 2 Ch 30:17: Is 16:14 לוֹא כַבִּיר, cf. 10:7 לֹא מְעַט. e.g. Hosea 13:13
- b. with a ptcp. Je 2:2 ארץ לא זרועה, 18:15 (the finite verb is more common: see Is 62:12 עִיר לֹא נֶעֱזָ֫בָה (cf. 54:11), Je 6:8 אֶרֶץ לוֹא נוֹשָׁ֫בָה, 15:18; 22:6; 31:18 Zp 2:1). e.g. Jeremiah 2:2
- c. †Gn 15:13 בארץ לא להם, Je 5:19 Hab 1:6 מִשְׁכָּנוֹת לֹא־לוֹ, Pr 26:17 רִיב לֹא־לוֹ. e.g. Genesis 15:13
- d. with a subst., in poetry, forming a kind of compound, expressing pointedly its antithesis or negation (Germ. un- is sometimes used similarly): Dt 32:5 (?), 17, 21 a they made me jealous בְּלֹא אֵל with a not-God (with what in no respect deserved the name of God), v b בְּלֹא עָם i.e. with an unorganized horde, Am 6:13 הַשְּׂמֵחִים לְלֹא דָבָר i.e. at a thing wh. is not, an unreality (of their boasted strength), Is 10:15 כְּהָרִים מַטֶּה לֹא עֵץ like a rod’s lifting up what is no wood (but the agent wielding it), 31:8 חרב לא אישׁ, חרב לא אדם, 55:2 בלוא לחם for what is not bread, בלוא לשׂבעה for what is not for satiety, Je 5:7 וַיּשָּֽׁבְעוּ בְּלֹא אֱלֹהִים by not-goods, in late prose 2 Ch 13:9 כֹּהֵן לְלֹא אֱלֹהִים; ψ 44:13 תִּמְכֹּר עַמְּךָ בְּלֹא־הוֹן for no-value (i.e. cheaply), Pr 13:23 Jb 10:22 צלמות וְלֹא סְדָרִים darkness and disorder; so לֹא־עַמִּי Ho 1:9; 2:25: still more pregnantly Jb 26:2a מֶה־עָזַרְתָּ לְלֹא־כֹחַ (poet. for לאשׁר אין לו כח) the powerless, v 2b, 3a (Ew§ 286 g Ges§ 152. 1 n.), 39:16 הִקְשִׁיחַ בָּנֶיהָ לְלֹא לָהּ useth hardly her young ones (making them) into none of hers; and even Hb 2:6 הַמַּרְבֶּה לֹא־לוֹ what is not his own (cf. Jb 18:15 מִבְּלִי לוֹ). Cf. with a verb, and ellipse of אשׁר, Is 65:1 לְלֹא שָׁאָ֑לוּ to those who have not asked, v b Je 2:8 אַחֲרֵי לֹא יוֹעִילוּ, v 11b; also לֹא רֻחָ֫מָה Ho 1:6, 8; 2:25, and prob. Jb 31:31 לֹא נִשְׂבָּ֑ע (pf. in p.) one not satisfied. e.g. Deuteronomy 32:5
- e. in circ. clauses (Dr§ 164), poet. and rare: qualifying a subst., 2 S 23:4 בֹּקֶר לֹא עָבוֹת a morning without clouds, Job 12:24 בְּתֹהוּ לֹא דֶרֶךְ in a pathless waste, 38:26a; and a verb Jb 34:24 יָרֹעַ כַּבִּירִים לֹא חֵקֶר without inquiry, ψ 59:4 לא פשׁעי ולא חטאתי (cf. v 4 בלי עון), in late prose, twice, 1 Ch 2:30, 32 וימת לא בנים (אֵין and בְּלִי, q.v., are more usual in such cases). e.g. 2 Samuel 23:4
- 3. Once (according to many MSS), as a subst., Jb 6:21 כִּי־עַתָּה הֱיִיתֶם לֹא for now are ye become nothing, Hi De Kö (cf. Dn 4:32 (Aramaic) כְּלָה חֲשִׁיבִין; 𝔗 here הֲוֵיתוּן כְּלָא, and אַל Jb 24:25); but reading fluctuates (Orientals לֹא, Qr לו, Westerns, Baer (v. pp. 37, 56) לוֹ [‘now are ye become that,’ viz. the נַחַל אַכְזָב of v 15]; but even לוֹ yields a forced sense; and text is prob. wrong: Mich Ew Ol Sgf Bu כֵּן … לִי (𝔊 𝔖 also read לִי); Bö Di כִּי … לְאָ֑יִן. Cf. Köii. 1. 236 f. e.g. Job 6:21
- 4. With prefixes:—
- a. †בְּלֹא31 (chiefly poet. or late), according to the varying signif. of בְּ: (a) usually with not = without, Je 22:13 בונה ביתו בלא־צדק without justice (‖ בלא משׁפט; so Ez 22:29 Pr 16:8), Is 55:1, 1 Pr 19:2, Jb 8:11 הֲיִגְאֶה־גֹּמֶא בְּלֹא בִצָּה without mire (‖ בלי מים), 30:28 בְּלֹא חַמָּה (= not through the sun), La 1:6 וילכו בלא־כח, Nu 35:22 בְּלֹא אֵיבָה … בְּלֹא צְדִיָּה, v 23 (sq. inf.) בְּלֹא רְאוֹת, 2 Ch 21:20 Ec 10:11; ψ 17:1 תְּפִלָּתִי בְּלֹא שִׂפְתֵי מִרְמָה; used more freely in Chr, 1 Ch 12:18 בְּלֹא חָמָס בְּכַפָּֽי׃, v 34 בְּלֹא לֵב וָלֵב, 2 Ch 30:18 בְּלֹא כַכָּתוּב. With ellipse of rel., La 4:14 בְּלֹא יוּכְלוּ יִגְּעוּ without (that) men are able to touch, etc. (b) of time, in not, i.e. outside of, Lv 15:25 בלא עֶת־נִדָּתָתּ, before Jb 15:32 בלא־יומו, Ec 7:17 בְּלֹא עִתֶּךְ ׃. (c) where לֹא belongs to the foll. word, and is only accidentally preceded by ב (v. supr. 2 d), Dt 32:21(×2) Je 5:7 Pr 13:23 בלא משׁפט through injustice; with בְּ pretii, ψ 44:13 Is 55:2(×2) Je 2:11 בְּלוֹא יוֹעִיל for (that which) profiteth not. e.g. Jeremiah 22:13
- b. הֲלֹא nonne? Gn 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: Gn 13:9 Is not the whole land before thee? 19:20; 20:5; 27:36; 29:25 Ex 4:11 Who maketh dumb or deaf, etc.? Do not I? 33:16 Ju 4:6, 14; 8:2; 9:28, 38 1 S 9:20, 21; 15:17 etc.; with a vb. in 1 ps., Jos 1:9 הלא צויתיך, Ju 6:14 הלא שׁלחתיך, 1 S 20:30; 2 S 19:23 Ru 2:9: similarly in a poet. or rhet. style, Ju 5:30 הלא ימצאו יחלקו שׁלל, Is 8:19; 10:8, 9, 11; 28:25; 29:17; 40:21, 23; 42:24; 43:19 etc., Jb 4:6, 21; 7:1; 10:10, 20, etc. (β) it has a tendency to become little more than an affirm. particle, declaring with some rhetor. emph. what is, or might be, well known: Dt 3:11 הֲלֹה הִיא בְרַבַּת בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן, 11:30 1 S 21:12 הלוא זה דוד וג׳ (cf. 29:3, 5 2 S 11:3), 23:19; 26:1 2 S 15:35; it is thus nearly = הִנֵּה (𝔊 sometimes represents it by ἰδού, as Jos 1:9 Ju 6:14 Ru 2:9 2 S 15:35); so especially in the phrase of the compiler of K, And the rest of the acts of … הֲלֹא הֵם (הֵמָּה) כְּתוּבִים are they not written in, etc.? 1 K 11:41; 14:29 + often (with which there interchanges הִנָּם כְּתוּבִים 1 K 14:19 2 K 15:11; 15:26, 31, which is gen. used by the Chr, 2 Ch 16:11; 20:34, etc.), Jos 10:13 (cf. 2 S 1:18 הִנֵּה), 1 K 8:53 𝔊, Est 10:2; ψ 56:14 (strangely: contr. 116:8).—הֲלֹא הִנֵּה †Hb 2:13 2 Ch 25:26 (הִנָּם).—On Ju 14:15, see הֲ 1 end. e.g. Genesis 4:7
- c. †וָלֹ֕א and not = and if not, 2 S 13:26 2 K 5:17. Comp. וָיֵשׁ. e.g. 2 Samuel 13:26
- d. †כְּלוֹא Ob 16 והיו כלוא היו, poet. for כאשׁר, as though they had not been. e.g. Obadiah 1:16
- e. †לְלֹא without, lit. in the condition of no … 2 Ch 15:3 (comp. לְאֵין, also in Chr). Elsewhere לא belongs to the foll. word, Am 6:13 2 Ch 13:9 Is 65:1(×2) Jb 26:2, 3; 39:16 (v. supr. 2 d). e.g. 2 Chronicles 15:3
- —Fifteen times, according to Mas. (v. De ψ 100:3 FrMM 247 Str Prol. Cr. 84), לא is written by error for לוֹ, viz. Ex 21:8 Lv 11:21; 25:30 1 S 2:3 2 S 16:18 2 K 8:10 Is 9:2; 63:9 ψ 100:3; 139:16 Jb 13:15; 41:4 Pr 19:7; 26:2 Ezr 4:2 (always with Qr לוֹ). The passages must be considered each upon its own merits: in some לוֹ yields a preferable sense; but this is not the case in all. There is the same קרי (rightly) on Is 49:5 1 Ch 11:20; but these were not considered to rest upon equal authority, and are hence not reckoned with the fifteen.—In Ju 21:22 (v. GFM), 1 S 13:13; 20:14(×2), and in Jb 9:33 (לֹא יֵשׁ), read prob. לֻא for לֹא. e.g. Psalms 100:3
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
or לוֹא adv. not (Arabic لَا, Aramaic לָא, ܠܴܐ, Sab. לא, Assyrian lâ; not in Ethiopic: cf. Köii. 1. 236 Walker AJSL 1896, 237 ff.)—לוֹא, according to Mass. (FrMM 248), 35 times, besides בְּלוֹא 6 times, and הֲלוֹא, the orthogr. of which varies much (ib.p. 251), e.g. in S always הֲלוֹא, in Chr always הֲלֹא, on the whole הֲלוֹא 141 times, הֲלֹא 128 times; twice, according to Mass, written לו (Qr לֹא), 1 S 2:16; 20:2, once לה Dt 3:11 Kt:—not—denying objectively, like οὐ (not μὴ = אַל):—
— 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.
לֹא
- v. לַאי) not, no. Ber. I, 1 לא קרינו וכ׳ we have omitted to recite &c. Ib. III, 4 לא … ולא וכ׳ neither before nor after. Nidd. 5ᵃ לא אין להן וכ׳, no; it means &c., v. לַאו; a. v. fr.—וְלֹא indeed not? Ḥull. 4ᵇ ולא והכתיב וכ׳ indeed not (is it so that the verb הֵסִית never refers to persuasion by speech)? Do we not read &c.?; a. v. fr.—(מִצְוַת) לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה a prohibitory law, opp. עֲשֵׂה, a positive command; v. לַאו. Kidd. I, 7. Macc. 14ᵇ bot.; a. v. fr.—בְּלֹא without. Ber. 35ᵃ bot. ב׳ ברכה without pronouncing a benediction; a. v. fr.—והוא שלא, v. הוּא.
לָא I
- Targ. Gen. II, 5; a. v. fr.—Pes. 10ᵇ מקמיה … אין בתר … לא before the time when it is forbidden, yes (he must search after leavened bread); after the time, no (he must not search). Ib. לא שנא there is no difference; a. v. fr.
לָא II
- (preced. wds.) particle, mote. Yoma 20ᵇ, v. חִרְגָּא. Midr. Till. to Ps. LXVIII, 3 כלא חשיבי they are like a mote.
לָא III
- La, abbrev. of אִילָא, הִילָא; v. Fr. M’bo, p. 75ᵇ.
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 120 distinct written forms H3808 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| לֹ֣א | Particle, Negative | Amos 1:3 | 824 |
| לֹא | Particle, Negative | Amos 2:14 | 725 |
| לֹֽא | Particle, Negative | Amos 4:7 | 674 |
| לֹ֥א | Particle, Negative | Amos 2:15 | 666 |
| וְ/לֹ֥א | Particle, Negative | Amos 1:9 | 416 |
| וְ/לֹֽא | Particle, Negative | Amos 3:10 | 353 |
| וְ/לֹ֣א | Particle, Negative | Amos 4:8 | 351 |
| וְ/לֹא | Particle, Negative | Amos 5:11 | 278 |
| לֹ֤א | Particle, Negative | Amos 7:16 | 195 |
| וְ/לֹ֤א | Particle, Negative | Daniel 1:19 | 90 |
| לֹ֖א | Particle, Negative | Amos 2:12 | 36 |
| הֲ/ל֣וֹא | Particle, Negative | Amos 6:13 | 32 |
| וְֽ/לֹא | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 1:29 | 32 |
| הֲ/לֹא | Particle, Negative | Amos 5:20 | 30 |
| לֹ֨א | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 22:2 | 28 |
| וְ/לֹ֖א | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 5:18 | 26 |
| לֹ֧א | Particle, Negative | Amos 3:7 | 22 |
| הֲ/לוֹא | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 32:6 | 18 |
| הֲ/לֹ֥א | Particle, Negative | Exodus 4:11 | 17 |
| הֲ/לֹ֣א | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 26:15 | 16 |
| הֲ/ל֤וֹא | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 13:7 | 15 |
| הֲ/לֽוֹא | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 37:18 | 15 |
| לא | Particle, Negative | Exodus 21:8 | 15 |
| הֲ/לֹֽא | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 24:19 | 14 |
| וְ/לֹ֨א | Particle, Negative | Amos 9:15 | 14 |
| הֲ/ל֥וֹא | Particle, Negative | Genesis 34:23 | 11 |
| הֲ/ל֨וֹא | Particle, Negative | 1 Samuel 9:21 | 11 |
| הֲ/לֹ֤א | Particle, Negative | Genesis 13:9 | 11 |
| בְּ/לֹ֣א | Particle, Negative | 2 Chronicles 21:20 | 10 |
| הֲ/לֹ֨א | Particle, Negative | Exodus 4:14 | 10 |
| וְ/לֹ֧א | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 16:16 | 10 |
| לֹא֩ | Particle, Negative | Ecclesiastes 9:11 | 9 |
| הֲ/ל֖וֹא | Particle, Negative | Exodus 33:16 | 8 |
| הֲ/ל֛וֹא | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 18:23 | 8 |
| הֲ/ל֧וֹא | Particle, Negative | Genesis 31:15 | 8 |
| לֹ֕א | Particle, Negative | Genesis 24:49 | 8 |
| הֲ/לוֹא֙ | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 13:12 | 7 |
| ל֥וֹא | Particle, Negative | Isaiah 16:14 | 7 |
| לֹ֗א | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 5:11 | 7 |
| לֹ֚א | Particle, Negative | 1 Kings 22:31 | 7 |
| הֲ/ל֗וֹא | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 24:25 | 6 |
| לֽוֹא | Particle, Negative | 1 Kings 22:18 | 6 |
| הֲ/לֹ֗א | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 31:17 | 5 |
| ו/לא | Particle, Negative | Ezra 4:2 | 5 |
| וְ/ל֥וֹא | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 24:16 | 5 |
| ל֣וֹא | Particle, Negative | Jeremiah 3:3 | 5 |
| לְ/לֹ֣א | Particle, Negative | 2 Chronicles 15:3 | 4 |
| בְּ/לֹא | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 32:21 | 4 |
| הֲ/לוֹא֩ | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 17:9 | 4 |
| לֹ֠א | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 20:33 | 4 |
| לֹֽ֣א | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 5:8 | 4 |
| בְ/לֹא | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 32:21 | 3 |
| בְּ/לֹ֥א | Particle, Negative | Ecclesiastes 7:17 | 3 |
| הֲ/לֹא֙ | Particle, Negative | 1 Chronicles 21:3 | 3 |
| הֲֽ/לֹא | Particle, Negative | Job 22:12 | 3 |
| וְ/לֹא֙ | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 1:42 | 3 |
| לֹ֘א | Particle, Negative | Job 18:19 | 3 |
| לֹ֞א | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 33:27 | 3 |
| לֹ֦א | Particle, Negative | 1 Kings 10:3 | 3 |
| לֹ֪א | Particle, Negative | Psalms 44:3 | 3 |
The 60 most common forms are shown; 60 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3808, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- לא דבר Lôʼ Dᵉbar H3810 Lo-debar
- לא עמי Lôʼ ʻAmmîy H3818 Lo-ammi
- לא רחמה Lôʼ Ruchâmâh H3819 Lo-ruhamah
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 5 — not the complete family. 3 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
Most of the 3,966 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 2:5
- Exodus 1:8
- Leviticus 1:17
- Numbers 1:47
- Deuteronomy 1:9
- Joshua 1:5
- Judges 1:19
- Ruth 2:8
- 1 Samuel 1:7
- 2 Samuel 1:10
- 1 Kings 1:1
- 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.
