עַתָּ֫ה
now
‘now’ is one of 2 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
- Adverb
- A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb.
Every verse where H6258 appears in the Book of Joel — 1 distinct verse. 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.
Joel
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, עתה (ʻattâh) means “now.” Scripture first uses it in Genesis 3:22. With 422 verses in 31 books, it is a common word in the Hebrew Bible. Not a single-sense word: explore its full sense range. Sharing its root, it stands alongside עת, עתי and עת קצין. 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 H6258 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 →
- 422
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 422 distinct verses.
- 31 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 31 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #112
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 112 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 422 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- 1 Samuel 44 verses 10%
- Genesis 40 verses 9%
- 2 Chronicles 29 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 422 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 241 verses · 57%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 97 verses · 23%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 84 verses · 20%
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 2 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†: Now 2×
- American Standard Version†: Herein thou hast done foolishly for from henceforth 1×, Him 1×, Me 1×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Now 266×, Now therefore 38×, So 11×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Now 416×, Then 2×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H6258 across 9† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 7 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H6258 across 9† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H6258 across 409† 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. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 21 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H6258 across 425† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 7 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
14 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 14 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.
- a. Gn 12:19 ועתה הנה אשׁתך and now, behold thy wife, 22:12 כי עתה ידעתי now I know (so Ex 18:11; Ju 17:13; 1 K 17:24 [עַתָּה זֶה], ψ 20:7), 26:22, 29; 27:36; 31:13, 28, etc., Ex 5:5 הן רבים עתה עם הארץ; whether in opp. to past time, as Gn 32:11; Jos 14:11 כְּכֹחִי אָז וּכְכֹחִי עָ֑תָּה, Ju 11:8; 1 K 12:4; Is 1:21 ועתה מרצהים, 16:14 Ho 2:9 כִּי טוֹב לִי אָז מֵעָ֑תָּה, 13:2; Jb 30:1 +, or to future, as Nu 24:17 אֶרְאֶנּוּ ולא עתה, Ju 8:6 הֲכַף זֶבַח וצ׳ עַתָּה־בְּיָדֶ֑ךָ, 1 S 2:16 כִּי עַתָּה תִּתֵּן; = after all Nu 22:38; Ju 8:2; = now at last 2 S 24:16; 1 K 19:4; 2 K 19:25; Ho 7:2; Je 4:12; and in the phr. מעתה ועד עולם †Is 9:6; 59:21; Mi 4:7 (v. infr.), ψ 113:2; 115:18; 121:8; 125:2; 131:3. e.g. Genesis 12:19
- b. of the imminent or impending future: Gn 19:9 עַתָּה נָרַע לְךָ מֵהֶם, 29:32 כי עתה יאהבני אישׁי, v 34 Ex 6:1 עתה תראה, Nu 11:23; 22:4; 2 S 20:6; Is 33:10 (ψ 12:6), 43:19; 49:19; Am 6:7 לכן עתה יִגְלוּ, Is 49:19; Mi 7:4, 10; Dn 10:20; and especially ἀσυνδέτως in Hos, introducing a punishment, Ho 4:16 עתה יִרְעֵם י׳ וגו׳ 5:7; 8:8, 13 (Je 14:10), 10:2. e.g. Genesis 19:9
- c. of a time ideally present (= then, from our point of view): Is 29:22 לא עתה יבושׁ יעקב, v b Ho 10:3; Mi 4:9, 10, 11, 14; 5:3. e.g. Isaiah 29:22
- d. describing a present state = as things are: 1 S 8:5 thou art old, etc., עתה שִׂימָה לנו מלך, 9:6; 13:12; 14:30; 25:7b; 27:1 now I shall be swept away one day, etc., 2 K 18:20, 25; Jb 6:21; 14:16; 16:7. e.g. 1 Samuel 8:5
- e. with an Imv., as an encouragement, implying that the time has come for the exhortation or advice to be followed, Gn 31:13 עתה קום צא, Ex 18:19 עתה שְׁמַע בקולי, Nu 22:11 Dt 2:13 Is 30:8. e.g. Genesis 31:13
- 2. Phrases:
- a. עַתָּה זֶה (זֶה 4 h) †1 K 17:24 2 K 5:22. e.g. 1 Kings 17:24
- b. ועתה and, now, or now, therefore (וְ 4), drawing a conclusion, especially (cf. 1 e) a practical one, from what has been stated: Gn 3:22 and now (since man has once been disobedinet), lest he put forth his hand, etc., 20:7; 21:23 וְעַתָּה הִשָּֽׁבְעָה לִי הֵ֫נָּה, 27:3, 8 ועתה בני שְׁמַע בקולי, 30:30; 31:16, 44; 37:20 + often, Is 5:3, 5; 36:8 ψ 2:10; Gn 11:6 ועתה לֹא־יִבָּצֵר מֵהֶם וגו׳, 31:30; 45:8; 2 S 19:11 ψ 39:8 ועתה מַה־קִּוִּיתִי אֲדֹנָי, Is 52:5. e.g. Genesis 3:22
- c. וְעַתָּה הִנֵּה stating the ground on which some conclusion or action is to be based, Ex 3:9 Jo 14:10(×2) 1 S 12:2; 24:21; 1 K 1:18; Je 40:4 (with ועתה usually repeated after the הנה-clause). e.g. Exodus 3:9
- d. גם עתה Gn 44:10; 1 S 12:16; 1 K 14:14; Jo 2:12; Jb 16:19. e.g. Genesis 44:10
- e. מֵעַתָּה from now, henceforth, Je 3:4; Is 48:6; Dn 10:17 (according to some, here = from just now), 2 Ch 16:9; מעתה ועד עולם, v. supr. 1 a end. e.g. Jeremiah 3:4
- f. עַד־עַתָּה until now, Gn 32:5 וָאֵחַר עד־ע׳, Dt 12:9 לא באתם עד ע׳ אל הנחלה (opp. to the fut.), 2 K 13:23; especially after clause with מִן, 46:34 מִנְּעוּרֵינוּ וְעַד־ע׳ (2 S 19:8 Ez 4:14), Ex 9:18; 2 K 8:6; Ru 2:7. e.g. Genesis 32:5
- g. כִּי עַתָּה for in this case, in our idiom, for then (עתה pointing to a condition assumed as a possible contingency; cf. Dr§ 141, 142); †(a) Ex 9:15 כי עתה שׁלחתי וגו׳ for then (if the intention expressed in v 14 had not existed) I should have put forth my hand, etc., Nu 22:29 כי עתה הֲרַגְתִּיךְ, 1 S 13:13; Jb 3:13; sq. impf. Jb 6:3 for then (if it were weighed, v 2) it would be heavier, etc., 13:19 for then would I be silent and die; (b) after a protasis, surely then Gn 31:42 + (see כִּי 1 d b, p. 472).— e.g. Exodus 9:15
- Read כְּמוֹ עַתָּ (𝔊 𝔙) as now, for כְּמוֹ עֵת Ez 16:57, עַתָּ נִשְׁבַּרְתְּ (𝔊 𝔖 𝔙) now art thou broken! for עֵת נִשְׁבֶּרֶת Ez 27:34, and prob. עַתָּ בָּא (Hi We Kö Now, cf. 𝔊 𝔖) for עֶת־בֹּא Hg 1:2; also עַתָּה for אַתָּה 1 K 1:20, and אַתָּה for עַתָּה v 18b; 2 S 18:3. e.g. Ezekiel 16:57
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
(also Ez 23:43 ψ 74:6 עת Kt, Qr עַתָּה), עָ֑֫תָּה Gn 32:5 +, adv. of time, now (proposes acc. of [’int], עֵת (Köii. 260), at the time, in partic. of the present time, i.e. now; cf. Germ. zur Zeit, Arabic اَلْآنَ at the time, i.e. now);—now:
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from עת (ʻêth) (H6256) — time.
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.
עַתָּה
- v. עֵת) now, this time. Ber. 46ᵃ מע׳ ועד עולם from now and forever. Tanḥ. Mishp. 18 וע׳ באתי and now I have come again; a. fr. [In Talm. mostly עכשיו.]—As a dialectic term: מֵעַ׳ from now, i.e. as a consequence; if this were so, then.—Y. Ab. Zar. I, 39ᵈ bot. מע׳ חטין אל ימכור וכ׳ according to this he ought not to sell him wheat &c.; a. fr.—Mostly: אֶלָּא מע׳. Succ. 2ᵃ א׳ מ׳ העושה סוכתו וכ׳ but according to this, if a man put up his Succah in Ashteroth Karnayim (v. עַשְׁתָּרוֹת), would you also say that it is no legitimate Succah? B. Kam. 17ᵇ; a. fr.—אֱמוֹר מע׳ say from now, i.e. learn from this, therefore. Tosef. Kel. B. Mets. V, 2. Sifré Deut. 334; a. fr.
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 45 distinct written forms H6258 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| וְ/עַתָּ֗ה | Adverb | Deuteronomy 10:22 | 80 |
| וְ/עַתָּה֙ | Adverb | Deuteronomy 5:25 | 39 |
| וְ/עַתָּ֣ה | Adverb | Daniel 9:15 | 36 |
| וְ/עַתָּ֕ה | Adverb | Daniel 11:2 | 26 |
| עַתָּה֙ | Adverb | Exodus 9:15 | 26 |
| וְ/עַתָּ֖ה | Adverb | Amos 7:16 | 21 |
| עַתָּ֖ה | Adverb | Daniel 10:11 | 19 |
| עַתָּ֣ה | Adverb | Exodus 6:1 | 19 |
| עַתָּ֗ה | Adverb | Deuteronomy 2:13 | 18 |
| וְ/עַתָּ֡ה | Adverb | Exodus 33:13 | 15 |
| וְ/עַתָּ֛ה | Adverb | Ezra 9:10 | 12 |
| וְ/עַתָּ֞ה | Adverb | Exodus 32:34 | 11 |
| וְ֠/עַתָּה | Adverb | Ezra 9:12 | 10 |
| עַתָּ֥ה | Adverb | Amos 6:7 | 10 |
| וְ/עַתָּ֥ה | Adverb | Genesis 27:8 | 8 |
| עַתָּ֛ה | Adverb | Ezekiel 23:43 | 8 |
| עַתָּ֕ה | Adverb | Genesis 19:9 | 7 |
| עַ֭תָּה | Adverb | Job 3:13 | 6 |
| עַתָּ֤ה | Adverb | Genesis 29:34 | 6 |
| עָֽתָּה | Adverb | Exodus 9:18 | 6 |
| עַ֔תָּה | Adverb | Ezekiel 4:14 | 5 |
| עַתָּ֞ה | Adverb | Exodus 18:19 | 5 |
| וְ/עַתָּ֤ה | Adverb | 1 Samuel 2:30 | 4 |
| וְ֭/עַתָּה | Adverb | Job 6:28 | 4 |
| וְ/עַתָּה֩ | Adverb | 1 Samuel 26:8 | 3 |
| מֵ/עַ֔תָּה | Adverb | 2 Chronicles 16:9 | 3 |
| מֵֽ֝/עַתָּ֗ה | Adverb | Psalms 113:2 | 3 |
| עָ֑תָּה | Adverb | Deuteronomy 12:9 | 3 |
| וְ֝/עַתָּ֗ה | Adverb | Job 42:5 | 2 |
| מֵ/עַתָּ֖ה | Adverb | Isaiah 59:21 | 2 |
| עַתָּ֡ה | Adverb | 2 Kings 5:22 | 2 |
| עַתָּ֨ה | Adverb | 2 Chronicles 29:31 | 2 |
| עַתָּה֩ | Adverb | 1 Samuel 15:3 | 2 |
| ו/עת | Adverb | Psalms 74:6 | 1 |
| וְ/עַתָּ֨ה | Adverb | Psalms 27:6 | 1 |
| מֵ/עַ֨תָּה֙ | Adverb | Daniel 10:17 | 1 |
| מֵ/עַתָּה֙ | Adverb | Isaiah 9:7 | 1 |
| מֵ/עָֽתָּה | Adverb | Hosea 2:7 | 1 |
| מֵ֝/עַתָּ֗ה | Adverb | Psalms 125:2 | 1 |
| מֵֽ/עַתָּ֥ה | Adverb | Psalms 115:18 | 1 |
| עַ֠תָּה | Adverb | 1 Samuel 13:12 | 1 |
| עַתָּ֔ה | Adverb | Numbers 24:17 | 1 |
| עַתָּ֜ה | Adverb | 2 Samuel 16:11 | 1 |
| עַתָּה֮ | Adverb | 2 Kings 4:26 | 1 |
| עת | Adverb | Ezekiel 23:43 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H6258, 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
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 410 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 422 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 3:22
- Exodus 3:9
- Numbers 11:6
- Deuteronomy 2:13
- Joshua 1:2
- Judges 6:13
- Ruth 2:7
- 1 Samuel 2:16
- 2 Samuel 2:6
- 1 Kings 1:12
- 2 Kings 1:14
- 1 Chronicles 17:7
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.
