אִם
if
‘if’ is one of 8 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
- Conjunction
- A joining word (e.g. “and,” “but”) linking words or clauses.
Every verse where H518 appears in the Book of Jeremiah — 78 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.
Jeremiah
- Jeremiah 2:14 אִם conj Is Israel a servant? is he a home-born [slave]? why is he become a prey?
- Jeremiah 2:22 אִם conj For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before me, says the Lord Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 2:28 אִם conj But where are your gods that you have made you? let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble: for according to the number of your cities are your gods, Judah.
- Jeremiah 2:31 אִ֛ם conj Generation, see the word of Yahweh. Have I been a wilderness to Israel? or a land of thick darkness? why say my people, We are broken loose; we will come no more to you?
- Jeremiah 3:5 אִם conj Will he retain [his anger] forever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, you have spoken and have done evil things, and have had your way.
- Jeremiah 3:10 אִם conj Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not returned to me with her whole heart, but only in pretense, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 4:1 אִם וְ/אִם conj conj + conj If you will return, Israel, says Yahweh, if you will return to me, and if you will put away your abominations out of my sight; then you shall not be removed;
- Jeremiah 5:1 אִם אִם conj conj Run you back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places of it, if you can find a man, if there are any who does justly, who seeks truth; and I will pardon her.
- Jeremiah 5:2 וְ/אִ֥ם conj + conj Though they say, As Yahweh lives; surely they swear falsely.
- Jeremiah 5:9 וְ/אִם֙ conj + conj Shall I not visit for these things? says Yahweh; and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
- Jeremiah 5:22 אִ֤ם conj Don't you fear me? says Yahweh: won't you tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it can't pass it? and though the waves of it toss themselves, yet they can't prevail; though they roar, yet they can't pass over it.
- Jeremiah 5:29 אִ֚ם conj Shall I not visit for these things? says Yahweh; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
- Jeremiah 7:5 אִם אִם conj conj For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if you thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor;
- Jeremiah 7:23 אִֽם conj but this thing I commanded them, saying, Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk you in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.
- Jeremiah 7:32 אִם conj Therefore, behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of Slaughter: for they shall bury in Topheth, until there be no place [to bury].
- Jeremiah 8:4 אִם conj Moreover you shall tell them, Thus says Yahweh: Shall men fall, and not rise up again? Shall one turn away, and not return?
- Jeremiah 8:19 אִם conj Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off: isn't Yahweh in Zion? Isn't her King in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their engraved images, and with foreign vanities?
- Jeremiah 8:22 אִם conj Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? why then isn't the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
- Jeremiah 9:9 אִ֚ם conj Shall I not visit them for these things? says Yahweh; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
- Jeremiah 9:24 אִם conj but let him who glories glory in this, that he has understanding, and knows me, that I am Yahweh who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 12:16 אִם conj It shall happen, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, As Yahweh lives; even as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built up in the midst of my people.
- Jeremiah 12:17 וְ/אִ֖ם conj + conj But if they will not hear, then will I pluck up that nation, plucking up and destroying it, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 13:17 וְ/אִם֙ conj + conj But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret for [your] pride; and my eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because Yahweh's flock is taken captive.
- Jeremiah 14:7 אִם conj Though our iniquities testify against us, work you for your name's sake, Yahweh; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you.
- Jeremiah 14:18 אִם וְ/אִם֙ conj conj + conj If I go forth into the field, then, behold, the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then, behold, those who are sick with famine! for both the prophet and the priest go about in the land, and have no knowledge.
- Jeremiah 14:19 אִם conj Have you utterly rejected Judah? has your soul loathed Zion? why have you struck us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and, behold, dismay!
- Jeremiah 14:22 וְ/אִם conj + conj Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? or can the sky give showers? Aren't you he, Yahweh our God? therefore we will wait for you; for you have made all these things.
- Jeremiah 15:1 אִם conj Then said Yahweh to me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind would not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.
- Jeremiah 15:11 אִם אִם conj conj Yahweh said, Most assuredly I will strengthen you for good; most assuredly I will cause the enemy to make supplication to you in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.
- Jeremiah 15:19 אִם וְ/אִם conj conj + conj Therefore thus says Yahweh, If you return, then will I bring you again, that you may stand before me; and if you take forth the precious from the vile, you shall be as my mouth: they shall return to you, but you shall not return to them.
- Jeremiah 16:15 אִם conj but, As Yahweh lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries where he had driven them. I will bring them again into their land that I gave to their fathers.
- Jeremiah 17:24 אִם conj It shall happen, if you diligently listen to me, says Yahweh, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but to make the Sabbath day holy, to do no work therein;
- Jeremiah 17:27 וְ/אִם conj + conj But if you will not listen to me to make the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates of it, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
- Jeremiah 18:14 אִם conj Shall the snow of Lebanon fail from the rock of the field? [or] shall the cold waters that flow down from afar be dried up?
- Jeremiah 19:6 אִם conj therefore, behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that this place shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of Slaughter.
- Jeremiah 20:3 אִם conj It happened on the next day, that Pashhur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah to him, Yahweh has not called your name Pashhur, but Magormissabib.
- Jeremiah 22:4 אִם conj For if you do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
- Jeremiah 22:5 וְ/אִם֙ conj + conj But if you will not hear these words, I swear by myself, says Yahweh, that this house shall become a desolation.
- Jeremiah 22:6 אִם conj For thus says Yahweh concerning the house of the king of Judah: You are Gilead to me, [and] the head of Lebanon; [yet] surely I will make you a wilderness, [and] cities which are not inhabited.
- Jeremiah 22:17 אִם conj But your eyes and your heart are not but for your covetousness, and for shedding innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
- Jeremiah 22:24 אִם conj As I live, says Yahweh, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet on my right hand, yet would I pluck you there;
- Jeremiah 22:28 אִ֨ם conj Is this man Coniah a despised broken vessel? is he a vessel in which none delights? why are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into the land which they don't know?
- Jeremiah 23:8 אִם conj but, As Yahweh lives, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries where I had driven them. They shall dwell in their own land.
- Jeremiah 23:22 וְ/אִֽם conj + conj But if they had stood in my council, then had they caused my people to hear my words, and had turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
- Jeremiah 23:24 אִם conj Can any hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him? says Yahweh. Don't I fill heaven and earth? says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 23:38 וְ/אִם conj + conj But if you say, The burden of Yahweh; therefore thus says Yahweh: Because you say this word, The burden of Yahweh, and I have sent to you, saying, You shall not say, The burden of Yahweh;
- Jeremiah 26:4 אִם conj You shall tell them, Thus says Yahweh: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,
- Jeremiah 26:15 אִם conj Only know for certain that, if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city, and on the inhabitants of it; for of a truth Yahweh has sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.
- Jeremiah 27:18 וְ/אִם וְ/אִם conj + conj conj + conj But if they be prophets, and if the word of Yahweh be with them, let them now make intercession to Yahweh of Hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, don't go to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 30:6 אִם conj Ask now, and see whether a man does travail with child: why do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
- Jeremiah 31:20 אִ֚ם conj Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 31:30 אִם conj But everyone shall die for his own iniquity: every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
- Jeremiah 31:36 אִם conj If these ordinances depart from before me, says Yahweh, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.
- Jeremiah 31:37 אִם conj Thus says Yahweh: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 33:20 אִם conj Thus says Yahweh: If you can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, so that there shall not be day and night in their season;
- Jeremiah 33:25 אִם conj Thus says Yahweh: If my covenant of day and night fails, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
- Jeremiah 37:10 אִם conj For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yes would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.
- Jeremiah 38:4 אִם conj Then the princes said to the king, Let this man, we pray you, be put to death; because he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them: for this man doesn't seek the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
- Jeremiah 38:6 אִם conj Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king's son, that was in the court of the guard: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.
- Jeremiah 38:16 אִם וְ/אִם conj conj + conj So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, As Yahweh lives, who made us this soul, I will not put you to death, neither will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.
- Jeremiah 38:17 אִם conj Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, Thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then your soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and you shall live, and your house.
- Jeremiah 38:18 וְ/אִ֣ם conj + conj But if you will not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape out of their hand.
- Jeremiah 38:21 וְ/אִם conj + conj But if you refuse to go forth, this is the word that Yahweh has shown me:
- Jeremiah 39:12 אם conj Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do to him even as he shall tell you.
- Jeremiah 40:4 אִם וְ/אִם conj conj + conj Now, behold, I loose you this day from the chains which are on your hand. If it seem good to you to come with me into Babylon, come, and I will look well to you; but if it seem ill to you to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before you; where it seems good and right to you to go, there go.
- Jeremiah 42:5 אִם conj Then they said to Jeremiah, Yahweh be a true and faithful witness among us, if we don't do according to all the word with which Yahweh your God shall send you to us.
- Jeremiah 42:6 אִם וְ/אִם conj conj + conj Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of Yahweh our God, to whom we send you; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of Yahweh our God.
- Jeremiah 42:10 אִם conj If you will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I repent me of the evil that I have done to you.
- Jeremiah 42:13 וְ/אִם conj + conj But if you say, We will not dwell in this land; so that you don't obey the voice of Yahweh your God,
- Jeremiah 42:15 אִם conj now therefore hear you the word of Yahweh, O remnant of Judah: Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, If you indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;
- Jeremiah 44:14 אִם conj so that none of the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or be left, to return into the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return save such as shall escape.
- Jeremiah 44:26 אִם conj Therefore hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says Yahweh, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, As the Lord Yahweh lives.
- Jeremiah 48:27 וְ/אִ֣ם אִם conj + conj conj For wasn't Israel a derision to you? was he found among thieves? for as often as you speak of him, you wag the head.
- Jeremiah 49:1 אִם conj Of the children of Ammon. Thus says Yahweh: Has Israel no sons? has he no heir? why then does Malcam possess Gad, and his people well in the cities of it?
- Jeremiah 49:9 אִם אִם conj conj If grape-gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, wouldn't they destroy until they had enough?
- Jeremiah 49:20 אִם אִם conj conj Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they shall drag them away, [even] the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.
- Jeremiah 50:45 אִם אִם conj conj Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they shall drag them away, [even] the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.
- Jeremiah 51:14 אִם conj Yahweh of Hosts has sworn by himself, [saying], Surely I will fill you with men, as with the canker-worm; and they shall lift up a shout against you.
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.
אם — transliterated ʼim — is a Hebrew word carrying the sense “if.” The lexicon spreads it across several senses; see its full sense range. Spanning 931 verses in 37 books, it ranks among the most common words of the Hebrew Bible. Its earliest occurrence is Genesis 4:7. 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 H518 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 →
- 931
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 931 distinct verses.
- 37 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 37 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #39
- by frequency
- Top 50 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 39 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 931 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 931 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 377 verses · 40%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 295 verses · 32%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 259 verses · 28%
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: If 4×, But 2×, I will not 2×
- American Standard Version: If 4×, But 2×, Him 2×
- Berean Standard Bible: If 522×, Or 64×, When 25×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: If 701×, Or 65×, Except 36×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H518 across 43 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 29 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H518 across 43 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 29 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 H518 across 867 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 56 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 202 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H518 across 1,048 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 36 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
8 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 8 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. hypoth. part. if.
- a. construction (v. more fully Dr§ 136–138, 143 Friedrich Die Hebr. Condit. sätze 1884): (1) with impf. (continued by pff. & waw consec.; apod. usually begins with pf. & waw consec. or bare impf.; or, if necess., with imper. or juss.) (a) of future time: Gn 18:26 אִם־אֶמְצָא if I shall find 50 righteous in Sodom, וְנָשָׂאתִי I will pardon, etc., 24:8; 32:9 Dt 19:8 f. 1 K 1:52 b; 6:12 ψ 89:31–33; Gn 42:37 Ju 13:16 1 K 1:52 a ψ 132:12. (b) of past time (rare, but classical): Gn 31:8 אִם יֹאמַר if ever he said … וְיָֽלְדוּ then they used to bear, etc., Ex 40:37; & in the protestations Jb 31:7, 13, 16, 25 etc. (alternating with pff., v. infr., & with jussives in apod.) (c) assuming a purely imaginary case (with impf. in both clauses, like the double opt. in Greek), if, though: Gn 13:16 so that אִם־יוּכַל if a man were able to number the stars, thy seed also יִמָּנֶה might be numbered, Nu 22:18 Is 1:18 אִם־יִהְיוּ ח׳ כַּשָּׁנִים יַלְבִּינוּ though your sins were as scarlet, they should become white as snow, Am 9:2–4 אִם־יַחְתְּרוּ though they were to dig into Sheôl, from thence תִּקָּחֵם would my hand fetch them, ψ 27:3; 139:8 +. (2) with pt. (expressing either a present process, or an approaching future: apod. as 1 a) Gn 24:42, 49 Ju 6:36 (+ ישׁ) 9:15; 11:9 אִם מְשִׁיבִים אַתֶּם if ye are going to bring me back וְנָתַן י׳ then י׳ will, etc.; similarly with יֵשׁ or אֵין Gn 44:26 Ex 22:2 1 S 20:8; 23:23; & with no explicit copula Dt 22:2; 25:2 Lv 1:3, 14, etc. (3) with perf. (a) of fut. or pres. time (continued by pff. & waw consec.: apod. as 1 a) Gn 43:9 אִם־לֹא הֲבִיאֹתִיו אֵלָיךָ וְהִצַּגְתִּיו לְפָנֶיךָ if I do not bring him back (si eum non reduxero) and set him before thee, I will be guilty for ever, 47:6 if thou knowest that there are men of worth among them וְשַׂמְתָּם then make them, etc., Ju 16:17 2 S 15:33 2 K 7:4 ψ 41:7; 94:18 Jb 7:4; 9:30 f. 10:14 אִם חָטָאתִי וּשְׁמַרְתָּ֑נִי if I sin, thou watchest me. On אִם־נָא Gn 18:3 al. v. נָא. (b) of past time, whether (α) in actual fact, or (β) in an assumed case (the pf. is here continued by the impf. and waw consec.; apod. begins as before). (4) (a) Ju 9:16–19 אִם … עֲשִׂיתֶם if ye have done honestly וַתַּמְלִיכוּ and have made Abimelech king …, 1 S 26:19; especially in protestations, as ψ 7:4 אִם עָשִׂיתִי זאת if I have done this …, let the enemy pursue my soul, etc. Je 33:25 f. Jb 31:5 f. 9, etc. (b) Nu 5:27 if she have defiled herself וַתִּמְעֹל and been faithless, וּבָאוּ then shall they come, etc., 15:24; 35:22–24. (c) with bare pf. in apod., in sense of If … had …, only Dt 32:30 אִם־לֹא כִּי were it not that …, ψ 73:15. (לוּ is more usual in such cases.) (5) with inf. once (si vera l.) Jb 9:27 אִם אָמְרִי = if I say (lit. if (there is) my saying).—Note that the vb. following אִם is often strengthened by the inf. abs., as Ex 15:26; 19:5; 21:5; 22:3, 12, 16, 22 Ju 11:30; 14:12; 16:11 etc.; cf. DrSm 1:20, 6. e.g. Genesis 18:26
- b. Special uses: (1) repeated אִם … אִם whether … or (sive … sive) Ex 19:13 Dt 18:3 2 S 15:21; similarly אִם … וְאִם Gn 31:52 Je 42:6 Ez 2:5 Ec 11:3; 12:14 (cf. ܐܶܢ … ܐܶܢ, ܘܶܐܢ … ܐܢ PS250; وَإِنْ … إِنْ & وَإِمَّا … إِمَّا); cf. Pr 2:3. (2) After an oath (expressed, or merely implied) אִם (the formula of imprecation being omitted) becomes an emph. negative, and אִם־לֹא an emph. affirmative: 2 S 11:11 by thy life אִם־אֶעֱשֶׂה אֶת־הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה (may God bring all manner of evil upon me) if I do this thing! = surely I will not do this thing! (cf. the full phrases in 1 S 3:17 2 K 6:31) Gn 14:23; 42:15 Nu 14:23 1 S 3:14; 19:6 2 K 2:2; 3:14 & often; Is 22:14 ψ 89:36; 95:11 Jb 6:28; אִם־לֹא Nu 14:28 Jos 14:9 1 K 20:23 2 K 9:26 Is 5:9; 14:24 Je 15:11; 49:20 Jb 1:11 + especially Ez; after a neg. clause, emphasizing a contrasted idea, Gn 24:38 (where the expl. by Aramaic אֶלָּא is not supported by Heb. usage), cf. Je 22:6. Repeated, אִם … וְאִם 2 S 20:20 2 K 3:14 Is 62:8 Je 38:16; Ez 14:16. In adjurations (with 2nd or 3rd ps.) = that not Gn 21:23; 26:29; 31:50 1 S 24:22 1 K 1:51 Ct 2:7; 3:5 +. Of past or present time: 1 S 25:34 as י׳ liveth (I say) that, unless thou hadst hastened …, כִּי אִם נוֹתַר that surely there had not been left …! 17:55 as thy soul liveth אִם־יָדָֽעְתִּי if I know it! 1 K 17:12; 18:10—both אִם־יֵשׁ (כִּי in 1 K 17:12 introduces the fact sworn to, & need not be translated; so 2 S 3:35: v. כִּי); ψ 131:2 אִם־לֹא (after a neg. clause: cf. supr. Gn 24:38). Cf. Str§ 90. (3) Part. of wishing, if but …! oh that …! (rare) ψ 81:9 If thou wouldest hearken to me! 95:7; 139:19 Pr 24:11 1 Ch 4:10. Cf. Ex 32:32. With imv. (si vera l.) Jb 34:16 וְאִם־בִּֽינָה; and with an anacoluthon, Gu 23:13 (P) אִם־אַתָּה לוּ שְמָעֵנִי if thou!—oh that thou wouldst hear me! (4) Nearly = when—with the pf.: (a) of past, Gn 38:9 Nu 21:9 וְהָיָה אִם־נָשַׁךְ … וְהִבִּיט and it used to be, if or when a serpent had bitten a man, that he would look, etc., Ju 6:3 ψ 78:34 (v. Dr§ 136 δ Obs.); Am 7:2. (b) of pres. or fut., Is 4:4 אִם רָחַץ when the Lord shall have washed, 24:13; 28:25; cf. Nu 36:4 (with the impf.) e.g. Exodus 19:13
- c. Compounded with other particles:—(α) בִּלְתִּי אִם except if, except, †Gn 47:18 Ju 7:14 Am 3:3, 4. (β) הֲלוֹא אִם †2 K 20:19 (for which Is 39:8 has simply כִּי), perhaps Is it not (good), if …? (De Di). (γ) כִּי־אִם, q.v. (δ) עַד אִם †Gn 24:19, 33 Is 30:17 Ru 2:21, & עַד אֲשֶׁר אִם †Gn 28:15 Nu 32:17 Is 6:11, until, proposes until if or when. (ε) רַק אִם if only (v. sub רַק). אִם־לֹא in Ez 3:6b is very difficult. The Vrss render If I had sent, etc., implying לֻא for אִם־לֹא (for Ew’s אִם־לֻא = אִלּוּ, q.v., is precarious): Ges Hi Co ‘but (אִם־לֹא after a neg., cf. supr. Gn 24:38 ψ 131:2) unto them (Isr.) have I sent thee: they can understand thee’ (but understand is a dub. rendering of שָׁמַע אֶל). e.g. Genesis 47:18
- 2. Interrog.part.
- a. in direct qu.: (a) alone (not freq. and usually = Num? expecting the answer No, especially in a rhet. style): Gn 38:17 1 K 1:27; Ju 5:8 מָגֵן אִם־יֵרָאֶה וָרֹמַח was there a shield to be seen or a spear …? Is 29:16; and repeated Am 3:6 Je 48:27 Jb 6:12. (b) more freq. in disjunctive interrogation: (α) הֲ … אִם, expressing a real alternative Jos 5:13 הֲלָנוּ אַתָּה אִם־לְצָרֵינוּ art thou for us, or for our enemies? Ju 9:2 1 K 22:6, 15: more often expressing a merely formal alternative, especially in poetry (a rhetorical Num?) Gn 37:8 Nu 11:12, 22 Ju 11:25b 2 S 19:36 Is 10:15; 66:8 Je 3:5 Hb 3:8 ψ 77:10; 78:20 Jb 4:17; 6:5, 6; 10:4, 5; 11:7 etc. (β) הֲ … וְאִם (rarer than הֲ … אִם, but similar in use) 2 S 24:13 (a real alt.); Is 49:24; 50:2 Je 5:9 (v 29 אִם) 14:22 Jo 1:2; 4:4 Jb 8:3; 11:2; 21:4; 22:3; 34:17; 40:8f. (formal); Gn 17:17 P (with an anacol.) shall a child …? וְאִם־שָׂרָה הֲבַת־תִּשְׁעִים שָׁנָה תֵּלֵד or Sarah,—shall she that is 90 years old bear? Pr 27:24 (וְאִם after neg. clause). e.g. Genesis 38:17
- b. in oblique interrogation, if, whether: (a) alone, after verbs of seeing, inquiring, etc. 2 K 1:2 Je 5:1; 30:6 Mal 3:10 ψ 139:24 Ct 7:13 La 1:12 Ezr 2:59; once מִי יוֹדֵעַ אִם who knoweth if …? i. e. (like haud scio an) perhaps Est 4:14 (older syn. מִי יוֹדֵעַ alone: see 2 S 12:22 Jo 2:14 Jon 3:9). (b) disjunctively הֲ … אִם Gn 27:21 Nu 13:18–20; so אִם … וְאִם Jos 24:15. e.g. 2 Kings 1:2
- c. compounded with הֲ, הַאִם †Nu 17:28 הַאִם תַּמְנוּ לִגְוֹעַ prob. an emph. Num? Shall we ever have finished dying? Jb 6:13 difficult: perhaps Is it that my help is not in me? (a forcible means of expressing that that which might be thought impossible is nevertheless the case); Hi as an aposiop., If my help is not in me (am I still to wait)? (The view that הַאִם = הֲלֹא nonne? is inconsistent with the fact that אִם in a question has regularly the force of Num?) e.g. Numbers 17:28
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
conj. (= Aramaic ܐܶܢ if [and in ܐܶܠܴܐ, אֶלָּא = ܐܶܢ ܠܴܐ if not, except], Arabic إِنْ if [and in إِلَّا = إِنْ لَا if not, except], Ethiopic እመ if = מָה + אִם (إِنْ + مَا) [and in አላ if not, but], Assyrian šumma; SAr. hm; Arabic أَمْ (Lat. an?) = أَاِمْ, cf. הַאִם: v. NöM p. 208, ZMG 1886, p. 739; WAG i. § 367 e 𝔗Onk Jon. אִם, 𝔗Hag אין.)
— 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.
אִם
- 1. if, when. Mekh. Yithro, end כל א׳ שבתורה רשות every Im (If) in the Torah refers to voluntary actions (which you may or may not do) except three &c. Y. Gitt. VII, 48ᵈ בגין דאמר א׳ because he said, If (I die), i.e. conditional divorce. Succ. 53ᵃ א׳ אני כאן when I am here; a. fr.
- 2. whether. Yoma III, 1; a. fr.—א׳ … א׳ whether … or. Y. Pes. VI, beg. 33ᵃ א׳ פסח וכ׳ whether or not the Passover ceremonies supersede the Sabbath; a. fr. [Ib. אם יש תוחלת read יש וכ׳ אפשר, as before.]—אִם כֵּן (abbrev. א"כ) if this be so. Ber. I, 1; a. fr.—אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן (abbr. אא"כ) only when indeed, not until, unless. Keth. 76ᵃ; a. fr.
אֵם
- 1. mother, freq. = my mother. Sabb. 134ᵃ; a. fr.—Y. M. Kat. III, beg. 81ᶜ הניח חק אִמֹּו left his mother’s lap (Palestine).—Num. R. s. 10 (ref. to immo Prov. XXXI, 1) אמו זו … התורה וכ׳ ‘his mother’ that means the Law which trained Solomon and which is called a mother of those studying it, as you read (Prov. II, 3; text אִם is read אֵם ēm). e.g. Proverbs 31:1
- 2. womb, mouth of the womb. Ḥull. III, 2 (54ᵃ) ניטלה האם וכ׳ if the mouth of the womb is absent, cut out. Bekh. IV, 4 (28ᵇ).—Trnsf. legitimate existence, authority. Succ. 6ᵇ, a. fr. יש א׳ למסורת the traditional Scripture text (letters without vowels) is authoritative in Biblical interpretation, opp. יש א׳ למקרא the traditional reading (vowels) must guide us, e.g. בחלב (Ex. XXIII, 19) may be read בַּחֲלֵב as the traditional vocalization, or בְּחֵלֶב in the fat of.— Pl. אִמָּהוֹת, אִימָּהוֹת. Kidd. IV, 4 her genealogy must be traced back ארבע א׳ to the mothers of four generations (on each side) which is eight mothers. Y. Snh. II, 20ᵇ bot. they are not אֲמָהוֹת אלא אִימָּהוֹת maid-servants but mothers (of the nation).—Trnsf. א׳ של בצלים seed-onions. Peah III, 4. Erub. 29ᵃ; a. e.—Ch. אִימָּא. [Koh. R. to XII, 7 א׳ דבצלי׳, v. אַמָּה.] e.g. Exodus 23:19
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 30 distinct written forms H518 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| אִם | Conjunction | Amos 3:3 | 708 |
| וְ/אִם | Conjunction | Amos 9:3 | 214 |
| אִֽם | Conjunction | Amos 6:12 | 39 |
| וְ/אִ֣ם | Conjunction | Ecclesiastes 11:3 | 12 |
| וְ/אִ֨ם | Conjunction | Genesis 17:17 | 11 |
| וְ/אִם֙ | Conjunction | Genesis 4:7 | 11 |
| אִ֣ם | Conjunction | Esther 2:15 | 10 |
| אִ֚ם | Conjunction | Genesis 34:15 | 9 |
| אִ֥ם | Conjunction | Ezra 2:59 | 9 |
| וְ/אִֽם | Conjunction | Amos 9:2 | 7 |
| וְֽ/אִם | Conjunction | Deuteronomy 22:25 | 5 |
| אִ֤ם | Conjunction | Habakkuk 3:8 | 4 |
| וְ/אִ֡ם | Conjunction | Exodus 21:29 | 4 |
| וְ/אִ֥ם | Conjunction | Jeremiah 5:2 | 3 |
| אִ֖ם | Conjunction | Nehemiah 2:2 | 2 |
| אִ֡ם | Conjunction | Judges 6:37 | 2 |
| אם | Conjunction | Jeremiah 39:12 | 2 |
| וְ/אִ֖ם | Conjunction | Jeremiah 12:17 | 2 |
| וְ/אִ֤ם | Conjunction | 1 Samuel 2:25 | 2 |
| וְ/אִ֧ם | Conjunction | 1 Kings 20:18 | 2 |
| וְ/אִם֮ | Conjunction | Leviticus 13:53 | 2 |
| וְ֠/אִם | Conjunction | Leviticus 27:7 | 2 |
| אִ֗ם | Conjunction | 1 Kings 1:27 | 1 |
| אִ֛ם | Conjunction | Jeremiah 2:31 | 1 |
| אִ֨ם | Conjunction | Jeremiah 22:28 | 1 |
| אִם֙ | Conjunction | Genesis 15:4 | 1 |
| הַ/אִ֥ם | Conjunction | Numbers 17:13 | 1 |
| הַ/אִ֬ם | Conjunction | Job 6:13 | 1 |
| וְ/אִ֛ם | Conjunction | Leviticus 19:7 | 1 |
| וְ/אִם֩ | Conjunction | Joshua 24:15 | 1 |
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 899 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 931 Hebrew verses 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
- Genesis 4:7
- Exodus 1:16
- Leviticus 1:3
- Numbers 5:8
- Deuteronomy 1:35
- Joshua 2:14
- Judges 2:22
- Ruth 2:21
- 1 Samuel 1:11
- 2 Samuel 3:13
- 1 Kings 1:27
- 2 Kings 1:2
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.
