אַיֵּה
ʼayêh · H346 · Hebrew · 48 occurrences
Meanings
-
where?
A reference to an unknown location; normally used with the purpose of finding out which location that is; sometimes used in rhetorical questions expressing one's conviction that such a location cannot be found
ExamplesGenesis 18:9 Then they said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.”
Genesis 19:5 and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.”
Genesis 22:7 Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
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where?
A reference to an unknown location, but focused on the question whether an object actually exists at all, rather than with a specific location in mind
Examples2 Kings 2:14 Then he took the coat of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters, and said, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.
2 Kings 18:34 ‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they saved Samaria from my hand?
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where?
A reference to an unknown location, but focused on the (often rhetorical) question whether an event may ever take place at all, rather than with a specific location in mind
ExamplesJudges 6:13 Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did the LORD not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”
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
47 occurrences in 36 groups
- אֱלֹהִיםGod, gods 11
- מֶלֶךְking 4
- יְהֹוָהthe LORD, YHWH 3
- Other words · 33 groups that occur once or twice (34) 34
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 2 words
- אַיִן ʼayin · H370 · from where?
- The pair represents two distinct Hebrew words with overlapping interrogative-locative function.
- אָן ʼân · H575 · where?, when?
- Both lexemes are genuine interrogative spatial referents ("where" / "whither") representing true near-synonymy in Hebrew—two distinct words asking about location or direction.
In the other Testament 1 word
- ποῦ poû · G4226 · where?, where, in which
- Greek ποῦ serves as the direct interrogative adverb of place corresponding to Hebrew אַיֵּה, both functioning as 'where' in questions about location.
Semantic domains 2 entries
- Spatial Referents003002005
- אַיֵּה is the interrogative "where," as Abraham asked where the lamb for the burnt offering could be found.
- Circumstantial Referents003002002
- The word can also introduce a question about the circumstance or state of something, not only its physical location.
Word family 5 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H346. ayyeh אַיֵּה45 (lengthened from אַי, compare הֵן & הִנֵּה) interr.adverb Where? Gen…
אַיֵּה45 (lengthened from אַי, compare הֵן & הִנֵּה)
interr.adverb Where? Gen 18:9; Gen 19:5; Gen 22:7; the most General term expressing this idea, used of both person & things (but never with a verb [contrast אֵיפֹה]); often in poetry or elevated style, where the answer nowhere is expected, Isa 33:18; Isa 36:19; Isa 51:13; Jer 2:28 (compare Deu 32:37 אֵי) Jer 17:15; Jer 37:19, Job 15:23 he wandereth abroad for bread אַיֵּה (saying) Where is it ? Job 21:28; Zec 1:5 (אַיֵּההֵֿם); in the (iron.) phrase where is thy (their) God? Psa 42:4; Psa 42:11; Psa 79:10; Psa 115:2 (אַיֵּהנָֿא) Joe 2:17; rhetorically, of an earnest inquiry Jer 2:6, Jer 2:8; Job 35:10, or longing Isa 63:11, Isa 63:15; Jdg 6:13.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 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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