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 Judges — 114 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.
Judges
- Judges 1:19 לֹ֤א ptcl neg Yahweh was with Judah; and drove out [the inhabitants of] the hill-country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
- Judges 1:21 לֹ֥א ptcl neg The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
- Judges 1:27 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg Manasseh did not drive out [the inhabitants of] Beth-shean and its towns, nor [of] Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
- Judges 1:28 לֹ֥א ptcl neg It happened, when Israel had grown strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out.
- Judges 1:29 לֹ֣א ptcl neg Ephraim didn't drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.
- Judges 1:30 לֹ֤א ptcl neg Zebulun didn't drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites lived among them, and became subject to forced labor.
- Judges 1:31 לֹ֤א ptcl neg Asher didn't drive out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob;
- Judges 1:32 לֹ֥א ptcl neg but the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.
- Judges 1:33 לֹֽא ptcl neg Naphtali didn't drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but he lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth Anath became subject to forced labor.
- Judges 1:34 לֹ֥א ptcl neg The Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill-country; for they would not allow them to come down to the valley;
- Judges 2:1 לֹֽא ptcl neg The angel of Yahweh came up from Gilgal to Bochim. He said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you:
- Judges 2:2 לֹֽא וְ/לֹֽא ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars. But you have not listened to my voice: why have you done this?
- Judges 2:3 לֹֽא ptcl neg Therefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be [as thorns] in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.
- Judges 2:10 לֹא ptcl neg Also all that generation were gathered to their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, who didn't know Yahweh, nor yet the work which he had worked for Israel.
- Judges 2:14 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg The anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers who despoiled them; and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
- Judges 2:17 לֹ֣א לֹא ptcl neg ptcl neg Yet they didn't listen to their judges; for they played the prostitute after other gods, and bowed themselves down to them: they turned aside quickly out of the way in which their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of Yahweh; [but] they didn't do so.
- Judges 2:19 לֹ֤א ptcl neg But it happened, when the judge was dead, that they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them; they didn't cease from their doings, nor from their stubborn way.
- Judges 2:20 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg The anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel; and he said, Because this nation have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not listened to my voice;
- Judges 2:21 לֹ֣א ptcl neg I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations that Joshua left when he died;
- Judges 2:22 לֹֽא ptcl neg that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of Yahweh to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
- Judges 2:23 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg So Yahweh left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.
- Judges 3:1 לֹֽא ptcl neg Now these are the nations which Yahweh left, to prove Israel by them, even as many [of Israel] as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
- Judges 3:2 לֹ֥א ptcl neg only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing of it:
- Judges 3:22 לֹ֥א ptcl neg and the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed on the blade, for he didn't draw the sword out of his body; and it came out behind.
- Judges 3:28 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg He said to them, Follow after me; for Yahweh has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. They went down after him, and took the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and didn't allow a man to pass over.
- Judges 3:29 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg They struck of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, every lusty man, and every man of valor; and there escaped not a man.
- Judges 4:6 הֲ/לֹ֥א ptcl inter + ptcl neg She sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, Hasn't Yahweh, the God of Israel, commanded, [saying], Go and draw to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
- Judges 4:8 לֹ֥א לֹ֥א ptcl neg ptcl neg Barak said to her, If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.
- Judges 4:9 לֹ֨א ptcl neg She said, I will surely go with you: notwithstanding, the journey that you take shall not be for your honor; for Yahweh will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
- Judges 4:14 הֲ/לֹ֥א ptcl inter + ptcl neg Deborah said to Barak, Up; for this is the day in which Yahweh has delivered Sisera into your hand; hasn't Yahweh gone out before you? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
- Judges 4:16 לֹ֥א ptcl neg But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, to Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there was not a man left.
- Judges 5:19 לֹ֥א ptcl neg The kings came and fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan. In Taanach by the waters of Megiddo: They took no gain of money.
- Judges 5:23 לֹֽא ptcl neg Curse you Meroz, said the angel of Yahweh. Curse you bitterly the inhabitants of it, Because they didn't come to the help of Yahweh, To the help of Yahweh against the mighty.
- Judges 5:30 הֲ/לֹ֨א ptcl inter + ptcl neg Have they not found, have they not divided the spoil? A lady, two ladies to every man; To Sisera a spoil of dyed garments, A spoil of dyed garments embroidered, Of dyed garments embroidered on both sides, on the necks of the spoil?
- Judges 6:4 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, until you come to Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor donkey.
- Judges 6:10 לֹ֤א וְ/לֹ֥א ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg and I said to you, I am Yahweh your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But you have not listened to my voice.
- Judges 6:13 הֲ/לֹ֤א ptcl inter + ptcl neg Gideon said to him, Oh, my lord, if Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? and where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt? but now Yahweh has cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.
- Judges 6:14 הֲ/לֹ֖א ptcl inter + ptcl neg Yahweh looked at him, and said, Go in this your might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: have not I sent you?
- Judges 6:23 לֹ֖א ptcl neg Yahweh said to him, Peace be to you; don't be afraid: you shall not die.
- Judges 7:4 לֹא לֹ֥א ptcl neg ptcl neg Yahweh said to Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for you there: and it shall be, that of whom I tell you, This shall go with you, the same shall go with you; and of whoever I tell you, This shall not go with you, the same shall not go.
- Judges 8:2 הֲ/ל֗וֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg He said to them, What have I now done in comparison with you? Isn't the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
- Judges 8:19 לֹ֥א ptcl neg He said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother: as Yahweh lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.
- Judges 8:20 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg He said to Jether his firstborn, Up, and kill them. But the youth didn't draw his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
- Judges 8:23 לֹֽא וְ/לֹֽא ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Yahweh shall rule over you.
- Judges 8:28 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. The land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
- Judges 8:34 וְ/לֹ֤א conj + ptcl neg The children of Israel didn't remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side;
- Judges 8:35 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg neither shown they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, [who is] Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.
- Judges 9:28 הֲ/לֹ֥א ptcl inter + ptcl neg Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Isn't he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve you the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: but why should we serve him?
- Judges 9:38 הֲ/לֹ֨א ptcl inter + ptcl neg Then said Zebul to him, Where is now your mouth, that you said, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that you have despised? go out now, I pray, and fight with them.
- Judges 10:6 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and served the Baals, and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook Yahweh, and didn't serve him.
- Judges 10:11 הֲ/לֹ֤א ptcl inter + ptcl neg Yahweh said to the children of Israel, Didn't I save you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
- Judges 10:13 לֹֽא ptcl neg Yet you have forsaken me, and served other gods: therefore I will save you no more.
- Judges 11:2 לֹֽא ptcl neg Gilead's wife bore him sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove out Jephthah, and said to him, You shall not inherit in our father's house; for you are the son of another woman.
- Judges 11:7 הֲ/לֹ֤א ptcl inter + ptcl neg Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Didn't you hate me, and drive me out of my father's house? and why are you come to me now when you are in distress?
- Judges 11:10 לֹ֥א ptcl neg The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Yahweh shall be witness between us; surely according to your word so will we do.
- Judges 11:15 לֹֽא ptcl neg and he said to him, Thus says Jephthah: Israel didn't take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon,
- Judges 11:17 וְ/לֹ֤א וְ/לֹ֣א conj + ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Please let me pass through your land; but the king of Edom didn't listen. In the same way, he sent to the king of Moab; but he would not: and Israel abode in Kadesh.
- Judges 11:18 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they encamped on the other side of the Arnon; but they didn't come within the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.
- Judges 11:20 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg But Sihon didn't trust Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
- Judges 11:24 הֲ/לֹ֞א ptcl inter + ptcl neg Won't you possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whoever Yahweh our God has dispossessed from before us, them will we possess.
- Judges 11:26 לֹֽא ptcl neg While Israel lived in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three hundred years; why didn't you recover them within that time?
- Judges 11:27 לֹֽא ptcl neg I therefore have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to war against me: Yahweh, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
- Judges 11:28 וְ/לֹ֣א conj + ptcl neg However the king of the children of Ammon didn't listen to the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
- Judges 11:35 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg It happened, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! you have brought me very low, and you are one of those who trouble me; for I have opened my mouth to Yahweh, and I can't go back.
- Judges 11:39 לֹא ptcl neg It happened at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she was a virgin. It was a custom in Israel,
- Judges 12:1 לֹ֤א ptcl neg The men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they said to Jephthah, Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didn't call us to go with you? we will burn your house on you with fire.
- Judges 12:2 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg Jephthah said to them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, you didn't save me out of their hand.
- Judges 12:5 לֹֽא ptcl neg The Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. It was so, that when [any of] the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said to him, Are you an Ephraimite? If he said, No;
- Judges 12:6 וְ/לֹ֤א conj + ptcl neg then said they to him, Say now Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth; for he couldn't manage to pronounce it right: then they laid hold on him, and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. There fell at that time of Ephraim forty-two thousand.
- Judges 13:2 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and didn't bear.
- Judges 13:3 וְ/לֹ֣א conj + ptcl neg The angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman, and said to her, See now, you are barren, and don't bear; but you shall conceive, and bear a son.
- Judges 13:5 לֹא ptcl neg for, behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb: and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
- Judges 13:6 וְ/לֹ֤א לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg ptcl neg Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his face was like the face of the angel of God, very awesome; and I didn't ask him whence he was, neither did he tell me his name:
- Judges 13:14 לֹ֣א ptcl neg She may not eat of anything that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe.
- Judges 13:16 לֹא לֹא ptcl neg ptcl neg The angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, Though you detain me, I won't eat of your bread; and if you will make ready a burnt offering, you must offer it to Yahweh. For Manoah didn't know that he was the angel of Yahweh.
- Judges 13:21 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg But the angel of Yahweh did no more appear to Manoah or to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Yahweh.
- Judges 13:23 לֹֽא וְ/לֹ֥א לֹ֥א ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg ptcl neg But his wife said to him, If Yahweh were pleased to kill us, he wouldn't have received a burnt offering and a meal-offering at our hand, neither would he have shown us all these things, nor would at this time have told such things as these.
- Judges 14:4 לֹ֣א ptcl neg But his father and his mother didn't know that it was of Yahweh; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines had rule over Israel.
- Judges 14:6 וְ/לֹ֤א conj + ptcl neg The Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him, and he tore him as he would have torn a kid; and he had nothing in his hand: but he didn't tell his father or his mother what he had done.
- Judges 14:9 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg He took it into his hands, and went on, eating as he went; and he came to his father and mother, and gave to them, and they ate: but he didn't tell them that he had taken the honey out of the body of the lion.
- Judges 14:13 לֹ֣א ptcl neg but if you can't declare it to me, then shall you give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing. They said to him, Put forth your riddle, that we may hear it.
- Judges 14:14 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg He said to them, Out of the eater came forth food, Out of the strong came forth sweetness. They couldn't in three days declare the riddle.
- Judges 14:15 הֲ/לֹֽא ptcl inter + ptcl neg It happened on the seventh day, that they said to Samson's wife, Entice your husband, that he may declare to us the riddle, lest we burn you and your father's house with fire: have you called us to impoverish us? is it not [so]?
- Judges 14:16 וְ/לֹ֣א לֹ֣א לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg ptcl neg ptcl neg Samson's wife wept before him, and said, You do but hate me, and don't love me: you have put forth a riddle to the children of my people, and haven't told it me. He said to her, Behold, I haven't told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?
- Judges 14:18 לֹ֥א ptcl neg The men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? He said to them, If you hadn't plowed with my heifer, You wouldn't have found out my riddle.
- Judges 15:1 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg But it happened after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father wouldn't allow him to go in.
- Judges 15:2 הֲ/לֹ֨א ptcl inter + ptcl neg Her father said, I most assuredly thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion: isn't her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her, instead.
- Judges 15:11 הֲ/לֹ֤א ptcl inter + ptcl neg Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, "Don't you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?" He said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.
- Judges 15:13 לֹ֚א לֹ֣א ptcl neg ptcl neg They spoke to him, saying, No; but we will bind you fast, and deliver you into their hand: but surely we will not kill you. They bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.
- Judges 16:7 לֹא ptcl neg Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.
- Judges 16:8 לֹא ptcl neg Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
- Judges 16:9 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber. She said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. He broke the cords, as a string of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.
- Judges 16:11 לֹֽא ptcl neg He said to her, If they only bind me with new ropes with which no work has been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.
- Judges 16:15 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg She said to him, How can you say, I love you, when your heart is not with me? you have mocked me these three times, and have not told me in which your great strength lies.
- Judges 16:17 לֹֽא ptcl neg He told her all his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come on my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I will become weak, and be like any other man."
- Judges 16:20 לֹ֣א ptcl neg She said, The Philistines are on you, Samson. He awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free. But he didn't know that Yahweh had departed from him.
- Judges 18:1 לֹֽא ptcl neg In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day [their] inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.
- Judges 19:10 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg But the man wouldn't stay that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus (the same is Jerusalem): and there were with him a couple of donkeys saddled; his concubine also was with him.
- Judges 19:12 לֹ֤א לֹֽא ptcl neg ptcl neg His master said to him, We won't turn aside into the city of a foreigner, that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.
- Judges 19:24 לֹ֣א ptcl neg Behold, here is my daughter a virgin, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble you them, and do with them what seems good to you: but to this man don't do any such folly.
- Judges 19:25 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg But the men wouldn't listen to him: so the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth to them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.
- Judges 19:30 לֹֽא וְ/לֹֽא ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg It was so, that all who saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day: consider it, take counsel, and speak.
- Judges 20:8 לֹ֤א וְ/לֹ֥א ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg All the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn to his house.
- Judges 20:13 וְ/לֹ֤א conj + ptcl neg Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows, who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers the children of Israel.
- Judges 20:16 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; everyone could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss.
- Judges 20:34 לֹ֣א ptcl neg There came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore; but they didn't know that evil was close on them.
- Judges 21:1 לֹא ptcl neg Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter to Benjamin as wife.
- Judges 21:5 לֹא לֹא ptcl neg ptcl neg The children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who didn't come up in the assembly to Yahweh? For they had made a great oath concerning him who didn't come up to Yahweh to Mizpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
- Judges 21:8 לֹֽא לֹ֣א ptcl neg ptcl neg They said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel who didn't come up to Yahweh to Mizpah? Behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly.
- Judges 21:12 לֹֽא ptcl neg They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins, who had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
- Judges 21:14 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead: and yet so they weren't enough for them.
- Judges 21:17 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg They said, There must be an inheritance for those who are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel.
- Judges 21:18 לֹ֥א ptcl neg However we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin.
- Judges 21:22 לֹ֥א לֹ֥א ptcl neg ptcl neg It shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we will say to them, Grant them graciously to us, because we didn't take for each man his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, else would you now be guilty.
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.
