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Lexicon :: Strong's H518 - 'im

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אִם
Transliteration
'im
Pronunciation
eem
Listen
Part of Speech
particle
Root Word (Etymology)
A primitive particle
Dictionary Aids

TWOT Reference: 111

Strong’s Definitions

אִם ʼim, eem; a primitive particle; used very widely as demonstrative, lo!; interrogative, whether?; or conditional, if, although; also Oh that!, when; hence, as a negative, not:—(and, can-, doubtless, if, that) (not), + but, either, + except, + more(-over if, than), neither, nevertheless, nor, oh that, or, + save (only, -ing), seeing, since, sith, + surely (no more, none, not), though, + of a truth, + unless, + verily, when, whereas, whether, while, + yet.


KJV Translation Count — Total: 43x

The KJV translates Strong's H518 in the following manner: if, not, or, when, whether, surely, doubtless, while, neither, saving, verily.

KJV Translation Count — Total: 43x
The KJV translates Strong's H518 in the following manner: if, not, or, when, whether, surely, doubtless, while, neither, saving, verily.
  1. if

    1. conditional clauses

      1. of possible situations

      2. of impossible situations

    2. oath contexts

      1. no, not

    3. if...if, whether...or, whether...or...or

    4. when, whenever

    5. since

    6. interrogative particle

    7. but rather

Strong’s Definitions [?](Strong’s Definitions Legend)
אִם ʼim, eem; a primitive particle; used very widely as demonstrative, lo!; interrogative, whether?; or conditional, if, although; also Oh that!, when; hence, as a negative, not:—(and, can-, doubtless, if, that) (not), + but, either, + except, + more(-over if, than), neither, nevertheless, nor, oh that, or, + save (only, -ing), seeing, since, sith, + surely (no more, none, not), though, + of a truth, + unless, + verily, when, whereas, whether, while, + yet.
STRONGS H518: Abbreviations
אִם conjunction (= Aramaic NAe   if [and in HAe  , אֶלָּא = H NAe   if not, except], Arabic إِنْ if [and in إِلاَّ= إِنْ لاَ if not, except], Ethiopic እመ፡ (ěmma) if = מָה + אִם (مَا + إِنْ) [and in አላ፡ (allâ) if not, but], Assyrian umma; also in Arabic أَمْ 'An?' = أَإِمْ, compare הַאִם : see NöM p. 208, ZMG 1886, p. 739; WAG i. § 367 e) **TargumOnk Jon אִם, TargumHag אין.
1. hypothetical particle if.
a. construction (see more fully Dr§ 136-138, 143 FriedrichDie Hebr. Condit. sätze 1884):
(1) with imperfect (continued by perfects & waw consecutive; apodosis usually begins with perfect & waw consecutive or bare imperfect; or, if necessary, with imperative or jussive)
(a) of future time: Genesis 18:26 אִם־אֶמְצָא if I shall find 50 righteous in Sodom, וְנָשָׂאתִי I will pardon, etc., Genesis 24:8; Genesis 32:9; Deuteronomy 19:8f.; 1 Kings 1:52b; 1 Kings 6:12; Psalm 89:31; Genesis 42:37; Judges 13:16; 1 Kings 1:52a Psalm 132:12.
(b) of past time (rare, but classical): Genesis 31:8 אִם יאֹמַר if everhe said... וְיָָֽלְדִוּ then they used to bear, etc., Exodus 40:37; & in the protestations Job 31:7, 13, 16, 25 etc. (alternating with pff., see below, & with jussives in apodosis)
(c) assuming a purely imaginary case (with imperfect in both clauses, like the double optative in Greek), if, though: Genesis 13:16 so that אִם־יוּכַל if a man were able to number the stars, thy seed also יִמָּנֶה might be numbered, Numbers 22:18; Isaiah 1:18 כַּשָּׁנִים יַלְבִּינוּ אִם־יִהְיוּ ח׳ though your sins were as scarlet, they should become white as snow, Amos 9:2-4 אִם־יַחְתְּרוּ though they were to dig into Sheôl, from thence תִּקָּחֵם would my hand fetch them, Psalm 27:3; Psalm 139:8 +.
(2) with participle (expressing either a present process, or an approaching future: apodosis as 1 a) Genesis 24:42, 49; Judges 6:36; Judges 9:15; Judges 11:9 אִם מְשִׁיבִים אַתֶּם if ye are going to bring me back... וְנָתַן י׳ then י׳ will, etc.; similarly with יֵשׁ or אֵין Genesis 44:26; Exodus 22:2; 1 Samuel 20:8; 1 Samuel 23:23; & with no explicit copula Deuteronomy 22:2; Deuteronomy 25:2; Leviticus 1:3, 14, etc.
(3) with perfect.
(a) of future or present time (continued by perfects & waw consecutive: apodosis as 1 a) Genesis 43:9 אִם־לֹא הֲבִיאֹתִיו אֵלֶיךָ וְהִצַּגְתִּיו לְפָנֶיךָ if I do not bring him back (si eum non reduxero) and set him before thee, I will be guilty for ever, Genesis 47:6 if thou knowest that there are men of worth among them וְשַׂמְתָּם then make them, etc., Judges 16:17; 2 Samuel 15:33; 2 Kings 7:4; Psalm 41:7; Psalm 94:18; Job 7:4; Job 9:30f. Job 10:14 אִם חָטָאתִי וּשְׁמַרְתָּ֑נִי if I sin, thou watchest me. On אִם־נָא Genesis 18:3 and elsewhere see נָא.
(b) of past time, whether
(α) in actual fact, or
(β) in an assumed case (the perfect is here continued by the imperfect and waw consecutive; apodosis begins as before).
(a) Judges 9:16-19 עֲשִׂיתֶם⬩⬩⬩אִם if ye have done honestly וַתַּמְלִיכוּ and have made Abimelech king..., 1 Samuel 26:19; especially in protestations, as Psalm 7:4 אִם עָשִׂיתִי זאת if I have done this..., let the enemy pursue my soul, etc. Jeremiah 33:25f.; Job 31:5f.; Job 31:9, etc.
(b) Numbers 5:27 if she have defiled herself וַתִּמְעֹל and been faithless, וּבָאוּ then shall they come, etc., Numbers 15:24; Numbers 35:22-24.
(c) with bare perfect in apodosis, in sense of If... had..., only Deuteronomy 32:30 אִם־לֹא כִּי were it not that..., Psalm 73:15. (לוּ is more usual in such cases.)
(4) with infinitive once (si vera lectio) Job 9:27 אִם אָמְרִי = if I say (literally if (there is) my saying). — Note that the verb following אִם is often strengthened by the infinitive absolute, as Exodus 15:26; Exodus 19:5; Exodus 21:5; Exodus 22:3; Exodus 22:12; Exodus 22:16; Exodus 22:22; Judges 11:30; Judges 14:12; Judges 16:11 etc.; compare DrSm i. 20, 6.
b. Special uses:
(1) repeated ⬩⬩⬩אִם אִם whether... or (sive... sive) Exodus 19:13; Deuteronomy 18:3; 2 Samuel 15:21; similarly וְאִם⬩⬩⬩אִם Genesis 31:52; Jeremiah 42:6; Ezekiel 2:5; Ecclesiastes 11:3; Ecclesiastes 12:14 (compare NAe  ⬩⬩⬩NAe  , NAev⬩⬩⬩NA   PS250; وَإِنْ⬩⬩⬩إِنْ & وَإِمَّا⬩⬩⬩إِمَّا).
(2) After an oath (expressed, or merely implied) אִם (the formula of imprecation being omitted) becomes an emphatic negative, and אִם־לֹא an emphatic affirmative: 2 Samuel 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! (compare the full phrases in 1 Samuel 3:17; 2 Kings 6:31) Genesis 14:23; Genesis 42:15; Numbers 14:23; 1 Samuel 3:14; 1 Samuel 19:6; 2 Kings 2:2; 2 Kings 3:14 & often; Isaiah 22:14; Psalm 89:36; Psalm 95:11; Job 6:28; אִם־לֹא Numbers 14:28; Joshua 14:9; 1 Kings 20:23; 2 Kings 9:26; Isaiah 5:9; Isaiah 14:24; Jeremiah 15:11; Jeremiah 49:20; Job 1:11 — Ezekiel; after a negative clause, emphasizing a contrasted idea, Genesis 24:38 (where the explanation by Aramaic אֶלָּא is not supported by Hebrew usage), compare Jeremiah 22:6. Repeated, וְאִם⬩⬩⬩אִם 2 Samuel 20:20; 2 Kings 3:14; Isaiah 62:8; Jeremiah 38:16; Ezekiel 14:16. In adjurations (with 2nd or 3rd person) = that not Genesis 21:23; Genesis 26:29; Genesis 31:50; 1 Samuel 24:22; 1 Kings 1:51; Songs 2:7; Songs 3:5 +. Of past or present time: 1 Samuel 25:34 as י׳ liveth (I say) that, unless thou hadst hastened..., כִּי אִם נוֺתַר that surely there had not been left...! 1 Samuel 17:55 as thy soul liveth אִם־יָדַעְתִּי if I Know it! 1 Kings 17:12; 1 Kings 18:10 — both אִם־יֵשׁ (כִּי here merely introduces the fact sworn to, & need not be translated; so 2 Samuel 3:35: see כִּי); Psalm 121:2 אִם־לֹא (after a negative clause: compare above Genesis 24:38). compare Str§ 90.
(3) Part, of wishing, if but...! oh that...! (rare) Psalm 81:9 If thou wouldest hearken to me! Psalm 95:7; Psalm 139:19; Proverbs 24:11. compare Exodus 32:32. With an imperative (si vera lectio) Job 34:16 וְאִ־םִֽֽֽבּינָה; and with an anacoluthon, Genesis 23:13 (P) אִם־אַתָּה לוּ שְׁמָעֵנִי if thou! — oh that thou wouldst hear me!
(4) Nearly = when — with the perfect:
(a) of past, Genesis 38:9; Numbers 21:9 וְרָאָה⬩⬩⬩וְהָיָה אִם־נָשַׁךְ and it used to be, if or when a serpent had bitten a man, that he would look, etc., Judges 6:3; Psalm 78:34 (see Dr§ 136 δ Obs.); Amos 7:2.
(b) of present or future, Isaiah 4:4 אִם רָחַץ when the Lord shall have washed, Isaiah 24:13; Isaiah 28:25; compare Numbers 36:4 (with the imperfect).
c. Compounded with other particles: —
(α) בִּלְתִּי אִם except if, except, † Genesis 47:18; Judges 7:14; Amos 3:3, 4.
(β) הֲלוֺא אִם2 Kings 20:19 (for which Isaiah 39:7 has sim-ply כִּי), perhaps Is it not (good), if...? (De Di).
(γ) כִּי־אִם, which see.
(δ) עַד אִםGenesis 24:19, 33; Isaiah 30:17; Ruth 2:21, & עַד אֲשֶׁר אִם Genesis 28:15; Numbers 32:17; Isaiah 6:11, until, properly until if or when.
(ε) רַק אִם if only (see below רַק). אִם־לֹא in Ezekiel 3:6b is very difficult. The Vrss render If I had sent, etc., implying לֻא for אִם־לֹא (for Ew's אִם־לֻא = אִלּוּ, which see, is precarious): Ges Hi Co 'but (אִם־לֹא after a negative, compare above Genesis 24:38; Psalm 131:2) unto them (Israel) have I sent thee: they can understand thee' (but understand is a dubious rendering of שָׁמַע אֶל).
2. Interrogative particle
a. in direct question:
(a) alone (not frequently and usually = Num? expecting the answer No, especially in a rhetorical style): Genesis 38:17; 1 Kings 1:27; Judges 5:8 מָגֵן אִם־יֵרָאֶה וָרֹמַח was there a shield to be seen or a spear...?Isaiah 29:16; and repeated Amos 3:6; Jeremiah 48:27; Job 6:12.
(b) more frequently in disjunctive interrogation:
(α) אִם⬩⬩⬩הֲ, expressing a real alternative Joshua 5:13 הֲלָנוּ אַתָּה אִם־לְצָרֵינוּ art thou for us, or for our enemies? Judges 9:2; 1 Kings 22:6, 15: more often expressing a merely formal alternative, especially in poetry (a rhetorical Num?) Genesis 37:8; Numbers 11:12, 22; Judges 11:25b 2 Samuel 19:36; Isaiah 10:15; Isaiah 66:8; Jeremiah 3:5; Habakkuk 3:8; Psalm 77:10; Psalm 78:20; Job 4:17; Job 6:5, 6; Job 10:4, 5; Job 11:7 etc.
(β) וְאִם⬩⬩⬩הֲ (rarer than אִם⬩⬩⬩הֲ, but similar in use) 2 Samuel 24:13 (a real alt.); Isaiah 49:24; Isaiah 50:2; Jeremiah 5:9 (Jeremiah 5:29 אִם) Jeremiah 14:22; Joel 1:2; Joel 4:4; Job 8:3; Job 11:2; Job 21:4; Job 22:3; Job 34:17; Job 40:8f. (formal); Genesis 17:17 P (with an anacoluthon) shall a child...? וְאִם־שָׂרָה הֲבַת־תִּשְׁעִים שָׁנָה תֵּלֵד or Sarah, — shall she that is 90 years old bear? Proverbs 27:24 (וְאִם after negative clause),
b. in oblique interrogation, if, whether:
(a) alone, after verbs of seeing, inquiring, etc. 2 Kings 1:2; Jeremiah 5:1; Jeremiah 30:6; Malachi 3:10; Psalm 139:24; Cant 7:13; Lamentations 1:12; Ezra 2:59; once מִי יוֺדֵעַ אִם who knoweth if...? i.e. (like haud scio an) perhaps Esther 4:14 (older synonym מִי יוֺדֵעַ alone: see 2 Samuel 12:22; Joel 2:14; Jonah 3:9).
(b) disjunctively אִם⬩⬩⬩הֲ Genesis 27:21; Numbers 13:18-20; so וְאִם⬩⬩⬩אִם Joshua 24:15.
c. compounded with הֲ, הַאִםNumbers 17:28 [Numbers 17:13] הַאִם תַּמְנוּ לִגְוֺעַ probably an emphatic Num? Shall we ever have finished dying? Job 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?)
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Unabridged, Electronic Database.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc.
All rights reserved. Used by permission. BibleSoft.com

BLB Scripture Index of Brown-Driver-Briggs

Genesis

13:16; 14:23; 17:17; 18:3; 18:26; 21:23; 23:13; 24:8; 24:19; 24:33; 24:38; 24:38; 24:38; 24:42; 24:49; 26:29; 27:21; 28:15; 31:8; 31:50; 31:52; 32:9; 37:8; 38:9; 38:17; 42:15; 42:37; 43:9; 44:26; 47:6; 47:18

Exodus

15:26; 19:5; 19:13; 21:5; 22:2; 22:3; 22:12; 22:16; 22:22; 32:32; 40:37

Leviticus

1:3; 1:14

Numbers

5:27; 11:12; 11:22; 13:18; 13:19; 13:20; 14:23; 14:28; 15:24; 17:13; 21:9; 22:18; 32:17; 35:22; 35:23; 35:24; 36:4

Deuteronomy

18:3; 19:8; 22:2; 25:2; 32:30

Joshua

5:13; 14:9; 24:15

Judges

5:8; 6:3; 6:36; 7:14; 9:2; 9:15; 9:16; 9:17; 9:18; 9:19; 11:9; 11:25; 11:30; 13:16; 14:12; 16:11; 16:17

Ruth

2:21

1 Samuel

3:14; 3:17; 17:55; 19:6; 20:8; 23:23; 24:22; 25:34; 26:19

2 Samuel

3:35; 11:11; 12:22; 15:21; 15:33; 19:36; 20:20; 24:13

1 Kings

1:27; 1:51; 1:52; 1:52; 6:12; 17:12; 18:10; 20:23; 22:6; 22:15

2 Kings

1:2; 2:2; 3:14; 3:14; 6:31; 7:4; 9:26; 20:19

Ezra

2:59

Esther

4:14

Job

1:11; 4:17; 6:5; 6:6; 6:12; 6:13; 6:28; 7:4; 8:3; 9:27; 9:30; 10:4; 10:5; 10:14; 11:2; 11:7; 21:4; 22:3; 31:5; 31:7; 31:9; 31:13; 31:16; 31:25; 34:16; 34:17; 40:8

Psalms

7:4; 27:3; 41:7; 73:15; 77:10; 78:20; 78:34; 81:9; 89:31; 89:36; 94:18; 95:7; 95:11; 121:2; 131:2; 132:12; 139:8; 139:19; 139:24

Proverbs

24:11; 27:24

Ecclesiastes

11:3; 12:14

Song of Songs

2:7; 3:5; 7:13

Isaiah

1:18; 4:4; 5:9; 6:11; 10:15; 14:24; 22:14; 24:13; 28:25; 29:16; 30:17; 39:7; 49:24; 50:2; 62:8; 66:8

Jeremiah

3:5; 5:1; 5:9; 5:29; 14:22; 15:11; 22:6; 30:6; 33:25; 38:16; 42:6; 48:27; 49:20

Lamentations

1:12

Ezekiel

2:5; 3:6; 14:16

Joel

1:2; 2:14

Amos

3:3; 3:4; 3:6; 7:2; 9:2; 9:3; 9:4

Jonah

3:9

Habakkuk

3:8

Malachi

3:10

Word / Phrase / Strong's Search

Strong's Number H518 matches the Hebrew אִם ('im),
which occurs 37 times in 30 verses in '2Sa' in the WLC Hebrew.

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 3:13 - “All right,” David replied, “but I will not negotiate with you unless you bring back my wife Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 3:35 - David had refused to eat anything on the day of the funeral, and now everyone begged him to eat. But David had made a vow, saying, “May God strike me and even kill me if I eat anything before sundown.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 5:6 - David then led his men to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land who were living there. The Jebusites taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here! Even the blind and lame could keep you out!” For the Jebusites thought they were safe.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 10:11 - “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then come over and help me,” Joab told his brother. “And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come and help you.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 11:11 - Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents,[fn] and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 11:20 - But he might get angry and ask, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls?
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 12:3 - The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 12:8 - I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:33 - No, my lord the king, your sons aren’t all dead! It was only Amnon.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 14:11 - Then she said, “Please swear to me by the LORD your God that you won’t let anyone take vengeance against my son. I want no more bloodshed.”
“As surely as the LORD lives,” he replied, “not a hair on your son’s head will be disturbed!”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 14:19 - “Did Joab put you up to this?”
And the woman replied, “My lord the king, how can I deny it? Nobody can hide anything from you. Yes, Joab sent me and told me what to say.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 14:32 - And Absalom replied, “Because I wanted you to ask the king why he brought me back from Geshur if he didn’t intend to see me. I might as well have stayed there. Let me see the king; if he finds me guilty of anything, then let him kill me.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 15:8 - For while your servant was at Geshur in Aram, I promised to sacrifice to the LORD in Hebron[fn] if he would bring me back to Jerusalem.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 15:21 - But Ittai said to the king, “I vow by the LORD and by your own life that I will go wherever my lord the king goes, no matter what happens—whether it means life or death.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 15:25 - Then the king instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city. “If the LORD sees fit,” David said, “he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle[fn] again.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 15:26 - But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 15:33 - But David told him, “If you go with me, you will only be a burden.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 15:34 - Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, ‘I will now be your adviser, O king, just as I was your father’s adviser in the past.’ Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel’s advice.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 17:6 - When Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had said. Then he asked, “What is your opinion? Should we follow Ahithophel’s advice? If not, what do you suggest?”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 17:13 - And if David were to escape into some town, you will have all Israel there at your command. Then we can take ropes and drag the walls of the town into the nearest valley until every stone is torn down.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:3 - But his men objected strongly. “You must not go,” they urged. “If we have to turn and run—and even if half of us die—it will make no difference to Absalom’s troops; they will be looking only for you. You are worth 10,000 of us,[fn] and it is better that you stay here in the town and send help if we need it.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:25 - He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.”
As the messenger came closer,
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 19:7 - Now go out there and congratulate your troops, for I swear by the LORD that if you don’t go out, not a single one of them will remain here tonight. Then you will be worse off than ever before.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 19:13 - And David told them to tell Amasa, “Since you are my own flesh and blood, like Joab, may God strike me and even kill me if I do not appoint you as commander of my army in his place.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 19:28 - All my relatives and I could expect only death from you, my lord, but instead you have honored me by allowing me to eat at your own table! What more can I ask?”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 19:35 - I am eighty years old today, and I can no longer enjoy anything. Food and wine are no longer tasty, and I cannot hear the singers as they sing. I would only be a burden to my lord the king.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 19:42 - The men of Judah replied, “The king is one of our own kinsmen. Why should this make you angry? We haven’t eaten any of the king’s food or received any special favors!”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 20:20 - And Joab replied, “Believe me, I don’t want to devour or destroy your town!
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 21:2 - So the king summoned the Gibeonites. They were not part of Israel but were all that was left of the nation of the Amorites. The people of Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul, in his zeal for Israel and Judah, had tried to wipe them out.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 24:13 - So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose three[fn] years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the LORD who sent me.”
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