בִּלְתִּי
biltîy · H1115 · Hebrew · 112 occurrences
Meanings
-
not, without
Particle marking a proposition as not true
ExamplesGenesis 3:11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”
Genesis 19:21 And he said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken.
Genesis 38:9 Now Onan knew that the child would not be his; so when he had relations with his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground so that he would not give a child to his brother.
-
except, unless, only
Particle marking a constituent or part of a constituent as the only condition for the entire proposition to be true
ExamplesGenesis 21:26 And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor did I hear of it until today.”
Genesis 47:18 But when that year ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord the fact that our money is all spent, and the livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left for my lord except our bodies and our lands.
Exodus 22:20 “He who sacrifices to any god, other than to the LORD alone, shall be utterly destroyed.
-
except, except if, unless
Particle marking a proposition as the only condition for another proposition to be true
ExamplesGenesis 43:3 Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “The man sternly warned us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’
Genesis 43:5 “But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”
Isaiah 10:4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the captives Or fall among those killed. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.
How it’s used In 1 role
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- שָׁמַיִםheaven, sky 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 1 word
- אֶפֶס ʼepheç · H657 · there is not, it is not, without
- Both lexemes are genuinely restrictive or negative particles that overlap in function, both used to express limitation, exception, or negation — a tight functional overlap supporting real synonymy between the two particles.
In the other Testament 1 word
- μή mḗ · G3361 · not
- Both בִּלְתִּי (biltîy, H1115) and μή (mḗ, G3361) are primary negators in their respective languages, expressing negation, prohibition and stipulation ("lest," "except," "save that no"). μή is the standard Greek rendering of בִּלְתִּי in the Septuagint, particularly in negation with non-indicative moods, privative constructions, and conditional or stipulative clauses.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- Negators004006
- בִּלְתִּי functions as a negating particle, as in Genesis 3:11's question about eating "from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat" (לְבִלְתִּי אֲכָל־מִמֶּנּוּ), denying the action described.
- Restrictors004007
- The word also restricts a statement to an exception or sole condition, as in Genesis 19:21's "not to overthrow the town" (לְבִלְתִּי הָפְכִּי), marking the one exempted outcome amid the surrounding narrative.
- Stipulators004008
- בִּלְתִּי further introduces a stipulated condition or proviso, as in Genesis 4:15's assurance "so that no one finding him would kill him" (לְבִלְתִּי הַכּוֹת־אֹתוֹ), setting the terms under which an outcome will or will not occur.
Word family 13 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H1115. bilti [בֵּ֫לֶת] substantive (from בָּלָה, of the form דֶּלֶת Ol§ 146 b) properly…
[בֵּ֫לֶת] substantive (from בָּלָה, of the form דֶּלֶת Ol§ 146 b) properly failure, hence used as
particle of negation, not, except (compare אֶפֶס בְּלִי,), twice with suffix (see below), elsewhere always בִּלְתִּי (with binding vowel יִ֯, as mark of construct state: Sta§ 343 Ges§ 90, 3), (Phoenician בלת only: Tabnith-Inscription5) —
1. adverb not, with an adjective 1Sa 20:26 טָהוֺר בִּלְתִּי not clean, with a substantive Isa 14:6 סָרָה בִּלְתִּי מַכַּת a stroke of non+? verb (si vera lectio) Eze 13:3 (RVm: but see Dr§ 41 Obs.).
2 after a preceding negation, not = except (synonym זוּלָתִי), Gen 21:26 I have not heard הַיּוֺם בִּלְתִּי except to-day, Exo 22:19 he that sacrificeth לי ׳בִּלְתִּי except unto ׳י, Num 32:12; Jos 11:19: so אִם בִּלְתִּי Gen 47:18; Jdg 7:14 (compare אִם כִּי Gen 28:17; Neh 2:2). With suffix (attached to the ground-form בֵּלֶת) בִּלְתִּי except me Hos 13:4, בִּלְתֶּ֑ךָ expect thee 1Sa 2:2.
3. conjunction (likewise after a negative, expressed or implied) Gen 43:3 אִתְּכֶם אֲחִיכֶם בִּלְתִּי except your brother (be) with you, Gen 43:5; Num 11:6 our soul is dry, there is nothing at all; save that our eyes are toward the manna, Isa 10:4 (and where will ye leave your glory ?) save that they bow down under the prisoners, and fall under the slain! i.e. (iron.) their only refuge will be among the corpses of a battle-field. So אִם בִּלְתִּי Amo 3:3-4,. — Dan 11:18, where no negative precedes, it is difficult to extract a sense consistent with the General usage of בִּלְתִּי: Ges besides that his reproach he will return unto him, Ew only, nothing but, Hi certainly, Drechsler (on Isa 10:4) nay, even (compare RV).
4 With prepositions
a. לְבִלְתִּי86 so as not..., in order not... negation of לְ followed by infinitive), usually followed by infinitive construct, as Gen 4:15 gave a sign to Cain הַכּוֺתאֹֿתוֺ לְבִלְתִּי in order that any finding him should not smite him, Gen 19:21; Gen 38:9; Exo 8:18; Exo 8:25; Exo 9:17; Lev 18:30; Lev 20:4; Lev 26:15; Deu 8:11; Deu 17:12 the man that doeth presumptuously שְׁמֹעַ לְבִלְתִּי so as not to hearken etc. (compare Jer 16:12; Jer 17:23; Jer 18:10; Jer 42:13; Dan 9:11) Dan 9:20; Jdg 2:23 +; הוֺעִיל לְבִלְתִּי in order not to profit (the result represented forcibly as the design; compare below לְמַעַן) Isa 44:10; Jer 7:8; after verbs of commanding Gen 3:11 which I commanded thee אֲכָלמִֿמֶּנּוּ לְבִלְתִּי not to eat thereof, 2Ki 17:15; Jer 35:8f.; Jer 35:14; Rth 2:9, swearing Deu 4:21; Jos 5:6; Jdg 21:7; Eze 20:15, agreeing 2Ki 12:9, interceding Jer 36:25. Once לְ לְבִלְתִּי 2Ki 23:10 (compare לְ לְמַעַן Eze 21:20, לְ בַּעֲבוּר 1Ch 19:3). Twice as conjunction with the imperfect, Exo 20:20; 2Sa 14:14 (compare בַּעֲבוּר, & מִן Deu 33:11). In Jer 23:14; Jer 27:18 followed by perfect, which is inconsistent with the nature of a final conjunction: read either יָבאֹוּ יָשׁוּבוּ,, or בוֺא שׁוּב, (compare Dr§ 41 Obs.). On Eze 13:3 see above
b. מִבִּלְתִּי an account of not... (negation of מִן followed by infinitive): followed by infinitive Num 14:16 י יְכֹלֶת ׳מִבִּלְתִּי; a verbal noun Eze 16:28 שָׂבְעָתֵךְ מִבִּלְתִּי.
c. עַדבִּֿלְתִּי until not..., followed by a perf. (Ges; RSJPh xvi. 72), or an infinitive (Ew§ 238 d), in the phrase (לָהֶם) שָׂרִיד הִשְׁאִירלֿוֺ עַדבִּֿלְתִּי until one left him (them) not a remnant, Num 21:35; Deu 3:3; Jos 8:22; Jos 10:33; Jos 11:8; 2Ki 10:11. — Job 14:12 שָׁמַיִם עַדבִּֿלְתִּי till there be no heaven (compare עַדבְּֿלִי Psa 72:7).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 3 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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