לָהֵן
therefore
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Every verse where H3860 appears — 1 distinct verse across 1 book. 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.
Ruth 1 verse
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.
להן — transliterated lâhên — is a Hebrew conjunction carrying the sense “therefore.” It occurs a mere 1 verse across Scripture. More than three-quarters of its appearances fall in Ruth. A true hapax — its single appearance is Ruth 1:13. Related forms include הן, הן and הנה. 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 H3860 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 →
- 1
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 1 distinct verse.
- 1 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 1 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #4,807
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 4,807 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 1 occurrence in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Ruth 1 verse 100%
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 1 distinct verse.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 1 verse · 100%
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†: Them 2×
- American Standard Version†: Having 1×, Till they 1×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Them 1×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Therefore 2×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3860 across 2† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3860 across 2† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H3860 across 1† tagged occurrence — most commonly:
Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3860 across 3† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 1 rendering that appears only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
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 3 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.
להן I on. 3 pl.fem., often in NH, in Bibl. Heb. only with prefixes, בָּהֵן, etc.
להן II
- a. Gn 3:22 הֵן הָאָדָם הָיָה behold, the man is become as one of us, & now lest, etc., 4:14 behold, thou hast driven me forth etc., 11:6; 15:3; 19:34; 27:11; 29:7; 30:34 (nearly = yea), Ex 5:5; 6:12, 30 Lv 10:18, 19 Nu 17:27 Dt 5:21 (in prose only in Pent. (23 times) and Ez 18:4 in this usage); in poetry, used more freely, but chiefly in Is 2 & Jb,—Nu 23:9, 24 (Balaam) Is 23:13; 32:1; 33:7 ψ 51:7, 8; 68:34; 78:20; 139:4 Pr 11:31 (stating the premiss to a conclusion introduced by אַף כִּי, q.v.), 24:12: elsewhere (except in senses b, c) only in Is 2 (23 times) & Jb (31 times), as Is 40:15(×2); 41:11, 24, 29; 50:1, 2, 9(×2), 11 Jb 4:18; 15:15; 25:5 (in these three passages before אַף or אַף כִּי), 9:11, 12 etc. (v. supr.). e.g. Genesis 3:22
- b. as a hypoth. part., propounding a possibility, if (so NH Biblical Aramaic, Mand. Palm. (ZMG 1888, 404); on the contr. Syriac ܐܶܢ, Pal. 𝔗 אִין, also Palm. (ib. p. 415), Arabic إِنْ, with א), a special application or development of the use a: Ex 4:1 והן לא יאמינו לי and behold (= and suppose) they will not believe me?, Lv 10:8; 25:20 and if (וְכִי) ye say, What shall we eat the 7th year? הֵן לֹא נִזְרַע behold, we shall not sow etc. (i.e. supposing we do not sow), Is 54:15 Jb 9:12; 13:15; 40:23 2 Ch 7:13(×2) (v 13b וְאִם); stating ground on which a qu. is based, Ex 8:22 (וְלֹא = הֲלֹא), Je 3:1 Hg 2:12 (v. הֵן Aramaic b). e.g. Exodus 4:1
- c. if, whether, in an indirect question, Je 2:10 רְאוּ הֵן הָֽיְתָה כָּזֹאת (but Gr הֲנִהְיְתָה); cf. אִם 2 b, and הֵן Aramaic c. e.g. Jeremiah 2:10
להן III conj. on this account, therefore, Ru 1
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. pron. 3 pl.fem., often in NH, in Bibl. Heb. only with prefixes, בָּהֵן, etc.: see under הֵמָּה 8 d.
II. (הֶן־ †Nu 23:9, 24 Jb 8:19, 20; 13:1; 26:14; 33:6, 12, 29; 36:5, 22, 26; הֵן־ Jb 13:15; 36:30 41:1 +) demonstr. adv. or interj. lo! behold (on etym. v. הִנֵּה), less widely used than הִנֵּה, and in prose mostly confined to calling attention to some fact upon which action is to be taken, or a conclusion based;
I. conj. on this account, therefore, Ru 1:13(×2) (either from לְ and הֵן (v. sub הֵ֫מָּה); or the Aramaic לָהֵן Dn 2:6, 9; 4:24: see the Aramaic Lex.)
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from הן (hên) (H2005) — behold.
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.
הוּא ²
- , ch. same. Targ. Ex. I, 16; a. v. fr.—היא הדא, v. דָּא.—Y. Shebi. VII, 37ᶜ top בהוא אתר (R. S. to Shebi. VII, 3 בההוא אתרא) in the same place.—כל דהו whatsoever, v. preced. Arakh. 2ᵃ נפשות כל דהו human beings of any nature, v. כָּל.—Y. Kil. VI, 31ᵇ top כהיא דאמר וכ׳ (in Babli כי הא) as (that which) R. … said.—Pl. הֵן (perhaps only in Hebr. phrases); הִינוּן, הִינִין. Targ. Y. Ex. I, 10; Ib. 19 (O. אינ׳); a. fr.—With prefix ה: הַהוּא, הַהִיא. Targ. Y. Ex. XXI, 20; a. fr.—In Talmud frequ. used to introduce a case. Pes. 3ᵇ ה׳ ארמאה ד־ it occurred that a gentile &c. Keth. 78ᵇ ה׳ איתתא ד־ the case came up of a woman that &c.; a. v. fr.—ה׳ גברא, ה׳ איתתא frequ. euphemistically for myself, thyself (to avoid ominous speech or curse). Y. Maas. Sh. IV, 55ᵇ bot. אביו דה׳ ג׳ thy father. Ib.ᶜ top חמית ה׳ א׳ I saw; בעלה דה׳ א׳ thy husband; a. v. fr.—With prefix ד־: דהוא, דהיא, contr. דּוּ, דִּי, v. דְּ־ a. דּוּ.—With prefixed prep. בְּהוֹן, בּוֹן, לְהוֹן, לוֹן.
הֵן
- they, pl. of הוּא, הִיא.
הֵן ²
- (b. h. הֵן)
- 1. here is, behold. הִינָּם, הִינָּן behold, they are. Ned. V, 6 (48ᵃ) והי׳ לפניך אלא וכ׳ Bab. ed. (Mish. ואינן; Y. ed. והן בפניך עד) and behold they are before thee (thine), but only in order that my father &c.
- 2. (introducing a question or exclamation) how?, indeed! Y. Shek. I, 45ᵈ bot. הן נקרא ולא וכ׳ can we, indeed, read this and not feel ashamed? (Bab. ed. הניקרא, marginal correct. Ms. M. הן נק׳).
- 3. if. Dan. II, 5, sq.; a. fr.—הן—הן whether—or. Ezra VII, 26.—B. Bath. VII, 2 הן חסר הן יתר whether it be less (than a Beth Kor) or more. Ib. 3; a. e. e.g. Daniel 2:5
- 4. yes (cmp. אִין I). B. Mets. 49ᵃ, v. הִין II Mekh. Yithro s. 4 answer על לאו לאו ועל הן הן no to a prohibition and yes to a positive command. Ib. s. 5 ה׳ וה׳ yes, indeed; a fr.—Ned. 11ᵃ, a. fr. מכלל לאו אתה שומע הן from the negative we derive the affirmative by implication; Y. ib. I, end, 37ᵃ, a. e. ממשמע לאו וכ׳. Men. X, 3 (65ᵃ).
הָן
- 1. ה׳ ד־ he who. Targ. Prov. XIX, 1, a. fr. in Ms., ed. Lag. הֲווֹ q. v.—Pesik. Aḥaré, p. 169ᵇ, v. דְּחוּכָא; a. e.
- 2. this one, that one. Y. Meg. I, 72ᵃ היך … להן וכ׳ (Y. Succ. III, 54ᵃ top לדין), v. הֵיךְ. Y. Kil. IX, 32ᶜ top [read:] מה הן שאל להן וכ׳; Y. Keth. XII, 35ᵇ top מה הין דשאיל להון (corr. acc.) from all that this one asked that one &c.; a. fr.
- 3. what? Y. B. Mets. II, 8ᶜ לְהָן, v. אֲהָן.
- 4. where (relat.), where? Esth. R. to I, 12 [read:] הן דליסטאה מקפח וכ׳ where the robber waylays, there he is executed. Y. Snh. I, 19ᵃ top; Y. Ned. VI, 40ᵃ bot. הן דמטא מטא where he came to, he came to (and his order was obeyed). Y. Kil. IX, 32ᶜ bot. [read:] להן דאשתלחית מינסבינן to the place whither I was sent to take them; Y. Keth. XII, 35ᵇ להון דשלחית (read דאשתלחית). Gen. R. s. 78, v. בְּרָא. Y. Ber. II, 5ᶜ bot. להן ייזיל whither shall he go? Ib. II, 5ᵃ top מן הן הוא where is he from?; a. fr.—Pl. הַנְהוּ, הַנֵּי, הַנָּךְ those, these. Targ. Esth. I, 10; a. e.—Tam. 32ᵇ. B. Mets. 117ᵃ, v. הַהוּא.—Gitt. 6ᵃ הנך … דהני והני בדהנך וכ׳ those (the inhabitants of Ctesiphon) know the signatures of these (of Ardshir), but the latter do not know &c. Bets. 10ᵇ; a. v. fr.—*Fem. pl. הַנָּן. Y. Bets. V, 63ᵇ top רבנין … מפרשין לה׳ the Rabbis of Cæsarea report these (controversies) more explicitly (stating the opinion of each by name; Y. Pes. VIII, 36ᵃ top מפרשין להון).—הני מילי (abbrev. הנ"מ) these words (have been said), i.e. this is the case only &c. Ber. 21ᵃ bot. (הוה אמינא) הנ"מ יחיד ויחיד I might have thought this refers only to &c.—Ib. 15ᵃ והנ"מ לק"ש but this applies only to &c.; a. v. fr.—מנא הני מילי, v. מְנָא II.—Emphatic. הַנָּא, הַנָּה. Gen. R. s. 87 הנה טבא וכ׳ is this (slave) good? Is the omen favorable?; Yalk. ib. 145 הא טב וכ׳ (corr. acc.).
לָהֵן
- = אִלָּהֵין, but, only. Taan. 12ᵃ (quot. fr. Meg. Taan. ch. XII, ed. Meg. Taan. לכן).
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 2 distinct written forms H3860 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| הֲ/לָהֵ֣ן | Conjunction | Ruth 1:13 | 1 |
| הֲ/לָהֵן֙ | Conjunction | Ruth 1:13 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3860, 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.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 5 — not the complete family. They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 1 verse that also exists in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 1 Hebrew verse it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
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.
