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The Blue Letter Bible

Lexicon :: Strong's H994 - bî

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בִּי
Transliteration
bî
Pronunciation
bee
Listen
Part of Speech
part of entreaty
Root Word (Etymology)
Perhaps from בָּעָה (H1158) (sense of asking)
Dictionary Aids

TWOT Reference: 238a

Strong’s Definitions

בִּי bîy, bee; perhaps from H1158 (in the sense of asking); properly, a request; used only adverbially (always with 'my Lord'); oh that!; with leave, or if it please:—alas, O, oh.

KJV Translation Count — Total: 12x

The KJV translates Strong's H994 in the following manner: O (7x), Oh (4x), alas (1x).

KJV Translation Count — Total: 12x
The KJV translates Strong's H994 in the following manner: O (7x), Oh (4x), alas (1x).

  1. if it please, pray excuse me, excuse me please

    1. used to introduce an entreaty or request

Strong’s Definitions [?](Strong’s Definitions Legend)
בִּי bîy, bee; perhaps from H1158 (in the sense of asking); properly, a request; used only adverbially (always with 'my Lord'); oh that!; with leave, or if it please:—alas, O, oh.
STRONGS H994: Abbreviations
† בִּי particle of entreaty, craving permission to address a superior, always followed by אֲדֹנִי (or אֲדֹנָי), and always (except Joshua 7:8) at the beginning of a speech, I pray, excuse me — (not improbable from √ ביי; so that בִּי אֲדֹנִי will be literally a supplication of (i.e. to my lord! compare Wetzst l.c., who compares the Arabic bdb010605 literally a prayer to my lord! a standing formula = Pray, excuse me, used exactly as בֹּי אֲדֹנִי. According to other contracted from בְּעִי, from בָּעָה to ask, and so literally a petition! compare Aramaic בְּבָעוּ, bdb010606 (e.g. Genesis 19:18 Targum, Numbers 12:13 Syriac Version); but ע is not often elided in Hebrew) — Genesis 44:18 בִּי אֲדֹנִי יְדַבֶּרנָֿא I pray, my lord, let thy servant speak, etc.; so Numbers 12:11; Judges 6:13; 1 Samuel 1:26; 1 Kings 3:17, 26, and following by a plural subject Genesis 43:20 יָרֹד יָרַדְנוּ בִּי א׳ Oh, my lord, we came down, etc.; בִּי אֲדֹנָי (to God) Exodus 4:10, 13; Joshua 7:8; Judges 6:15; Judges 13:8 (Greek Version of the LXX in Pentateuch and Joshua δέομαι, δεόμεθα: in other books absurdly ἐν ἐμοί).
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

19:18; 43:20; 44:18

Exodus

4:10; 4:13

Numbers

12:11; 12:13

Joshua

7:8; 7:8

Judges

6:13; 6:15; 13:8

1 Samuel

1:26

1 Kings

3:17; 3:26

H994

Read the Full Entry

Word / Phrase / Strong's Search

Strong's Number H994 matches the Hebrew בִּי (bî),
which occurs 12 times in 12 verses in the WLC Hebrew.

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Unchecked Copy Box Gen 43:20

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 43:20 - and said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food.

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Unchecked Copy Box Gen 44:18

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 44:18 - Then Judah went up to him and said, “Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 4:10

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 4:10 - But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 4:13

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 4:13 - But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Num 12:11

Unchecked Copy BoxNum 12:11 - And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us[fn] because we have done foolishly and have sinned.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jos 7:8

Unchecked Copy BoxJos 7:8 - O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies!

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 6:13

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 6:13 - And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 6:15

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 6:15 - And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 13:8

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 13:8 - Then Manoah prayed to the LORD and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:26

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:26 - And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 3:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 3:17 - The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 3:26

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 3:26 - Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.”
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