אָֽנֹכִ֫י אָנֹ֑כִי (once
Job 33:9 אָֽנֹכִ֑י pronoun 1st person singular common I;
Genesis 3:10;
Genesis 7:4;
Genesis 15:1,
2;
Genesis 16:5 —
הֲ הֶאָנֹכִי Numbers 11:12;
Job 21:4. (Assyrian
anâku, Phoenician & Moabite
אנך : not in Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic; but
ku appears as the affix of the
1st person singular in the Ethiopic verb (e.g.
waladku = Hebrew
יָלַדְתִּי).
אָנֹכִי and
אֲנִי appear to be two parallel formations (both containing the element
ani [compare the suffix
نِيَ -,
נִי-] or
ana, & one strengthened by the addition of the demonstrative basis
Ku [probably akin to
axk,
כָּא,
כֹּה here]: compare Sta
§ 179 W
SG 95 f. 98-101), of which, in most of the Semitic languages, one prevailed to the exclusion of the other, but which in Hebrew maintained their place side by side.) In some cases
אני and
אנכי appear capable of being used indifferently; in others the choice seems to have been determined, partly by rhythmical considerations, partly by a growing preference for
אֲנִי among later writers. Thus when appended to the verb for emphasis (whether with or without
גַּם) the lighter form
אֲנִי is nearly always used)
Leviticus 20:5;
Leviticus 26:24,
32;
Deuteronomy 12:30;
Judges 1:3;
Judges 8:23;
2 Samuel 12:28;
2 Samuel 17:15;
2 Samuel 18:2,
22;
Jeremiah 17:18;
Jeremiah 21:5;
Ezekiel 17:22;
Job 13:2 +; compare the cases
Genesis 27:34;
1 Samuel 25:24;
2 Samuel 19:1;
1 Kings 1:26;
Proverbs 23:15); on the contrary, in the emphatic rhetorical style of Deuteronomy,
אָנֹכִי is preferred (in the discourses, uniformly, except
Deuteronomy 12:30, in accusative with usage just noted, &
Deuteronomy 29:5 in a standing expression; on
Deuteronomy 32:48,
51 (P) compare below) In particular phrases, also, usage prefers sometimes
אֶני sometimes
אָנכי thus there occurs
חַי־אָנִי Numbers 14:21 & always, except
Deuteronomy 32:40; (
אָ֑נִי)
אִתְּךָ אֲנִי (
Jeremiah 1:9,
19;
30:11;
46:18;
Isaiah 43:2,
5);
אֲנִי יהוה Exodus 6:2,
6,
8 & elsewhere in P, & especially frequently in H (
Leviticus 18:2,
4,
6 etc.) & Ezekiel, also
Genesis 15:7;
Genesis 28:13;
Deuteronomy 29:5;
Judges 6:10 +; (
אנכי יהוה much less frequently; only J E & prophetic writers,
Exodus 20:2 =
Deuteronomy 5:6;
Hosea 12:10;
Hosea 13:4;
Psalm 81:11;
Exodus 20:5 =
Deuteronomy 5:9;
Isaiah 43:11;
Isaiah 44:24;
Isaiah 51:15 (
Exodus 4:11 is different); compare Dr
JPh xi. 224 f.);
אני אמרתי Isaiah 38:10 (Hez.)
Isaiah 49:4;
Jeremiah 5:4;
Jeremiah 10:19 (
Jeremiah 3:19 אנכי)
Ruth 4:4;
Psalm 30:7;
Psalm 31:23;
Psalm 41:5;
Psalm 82:6 +;
ויאמר אָ֫נִי (in response to a question)
Genesis 27:24;
Judges 13:11;
2 Samuel 20:17;
1 Kings 13:14;
1 Kings 18:8 (
אנכי וי׳ only
2 Samuel 2:20; on the contrary, with a
predicate,
אָנֹבִי is regularly employed,
Genesis 24:34;
1 Samuel 30:13;
2 Samuel 1:8 עֲמָלֵקִי אָנֹ֑בִי 2 Samuel 11:5;
2 Samuel 20:17;
Isaiah 6:5;
Jeremiah 1:6;
Jonah 1:9); (
הִנְנִי)
וַאֲנִי הִנֵּה Genesis 6:17;
Genesis 9:9;
Exodus 31:6;
Numbers 3:12 + (but
הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי Genesis 24:14,
43;
Genesis 25:32;
Exodus 3:13;
Exodus 19:9 +;
הִנֵּה אֲנִי is very uncommon; see
ib.226). So far as the usage of particular books is concerned, in the Pentateuch (except Deuteronomy)
אֲנִי is used in P (including H) always (about +
130 times) except
Genesis 23:4 (compare Ezekiel below); in J E
אנכי is preferred, though not exclusively (81 : 48). In Samuel there are 50 instances of each form. Jeremiah has some 54 instances of
אֶני 37 of
אנכי. In later books the preponderance of
אֲנִי is evident. Thus in Ezekiel
אני occurs +
138 times,
אנכי once
Genesis 36:28 (perhaps a reminiscence of
Jeremiah 11:4b;
Jeremiah 24:7;
Jeremiah 30:22); in Lamentations, Haggai, Ezra, Esther, Ecclesiastes
אני +
45 times,
אנכי never; in Chronicles
אני +
30 times,
אנכי once
1 Chronicles 17:1 (from
2 Samuel 7:2); in Daniel
אני +
23 times,
אנכי once
2 Samuel 10:11. See more fully Gies
ZAW 1881, 251-8 Dr
l.c. 222-7.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Unabridged, Electronic Database.
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