Exodus 21:10 — Word Study
WLCאִם־ אַחֶ֖רֶת יִֽקַּֽח־ ל֑וֹ שְׁאֵרָ֛הּ כְּסוּתָ֥הּ וְעֹנָתָ֖הּ לֹ֥א יִגְרָֽע׃
BSAIfʼim [under the condition] he takeslâqach▸ [to get, acquire] ◂another wifeʼachêr [different, next] he must notlôʼ reducegâraʻ▸ [diminish, decrease] the foodshᵉʼêr [sustenance, provision] clothingkᵉçûwth [garments, covering] or marital rights [of his first wife]ʻôwnâh△ [intimate duty, cohabitation]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| אִם־ | if | Particle |
| אַחֶ֖רֶת | another [woman] | Adj |
| יִֽקַּֽח־ | he will take | Verb, Qal, imperfect third person masculine singular |
| ל֑וֹ | for himself | Preposition, suffix |
| שְׁאֵרָ֛הּ | food her | Noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
| כְּסוּתָ֥הּ | covering her | Noun common feminine singular construct, suffix |
| וְעֹנָתָ֖הּ | and right to intercourse her | Conjunction, noun common feminine singular construct, suffix |
| לֹ֥א | not | Particle |
| יִגְרָֽע׃ | he will reduce | Verb, Qal, imperfect third person masculine singular |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife. |
| KJV | If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. |
| ASV | If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. |
| YLT | 'If another [woman] he take for him, her food, her covering, and her habitation, he doth not withdraw; |
| WEB | If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights. |
| BBE | And if he takes another woman, her food and clothing and her married rights are not to be less. |
Where they part company is יִגְרָע — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence begins with a conditional clause, establishing the scenario, followed by the main clause detailing the husband's obligations.
7 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbלָקַח
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
1 of 9 occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament — a word chosen on purpose.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Exodus 21:10
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — Laws Concerning Marriagegenerated
Exodus 21:10 outlines the responsibilities of a man who takes another wife, emphasizing the importance of not neglecting the needs and rights of his first wife. This law reflects the cultural context of ancient Israel, where family and marital obligations were taken seriously. The surrounding verses provide additional context for understanding the legal framework governing marriage and family life, including provisions for a son’s marriage and consequences for failing to uphold these responsibilities.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Corinthians 7:1–6 | Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 1 reference, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — יִגְרָע, yig.Ra'generated
The verb גָּרַע (gara) means to diminish or withdraw, indicating a reduction in something that is expected or required. It is used in various contexts to convey the idea of making something smaller or less significant.
In this verse, it is crucial that the husband does not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife, highlighting the obligation to maintain her status and needs even when taking another wife.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The verse contains a conditional clause introduced by אִם (if), followed by the main clause that describes the actions required of the husband. The structure indicates that the husband's obligations are contingent upon his decision to take another wife.
The finite verb יִגְרָע governs the main action of the sentence, with several noun phrases detailing what must not be diminished: food, clothing, and marital rights.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates יִגְרָע as ἀποστερήσει, which carries a similar meaning of withholding or taking away. This choice reflects a direct interpretation of the Hebrew text, emphasizing the prohibition against reducing the first wife's provisions.
The Greek term used indicates a strong focus on the act of deprivation, aligning with the protective nature of the law regarding marital rights.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Exodus 21:10 states that if a man takes another wife, he must not take away the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife. This law ensures that the first wife is treated fairly and her needs are met, regardless of the husband's new marriage.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
It means that the husband must ensure that his first wife continues to receive the same level of support and care, including food, clothing, and intimacy, even after marrying another woman.
This law is important because it protects the rights and well-being of the first wife in a polygamous marriage, ensuring she is not neglected.
This reflects the culture of ancient Israel by highlighting the significance of family obligations and the need for fairness in marital relationships.
Yes, many cultures have laws or customs that address the treatment of wives and family obligations, often emphasizing fairness and support.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How can I ensure that I treat others fairly and uphold their rights in my relationships?
- What responsibilities do I have in my family or community to support those who may be vulnerable?
- In what ways can I learn from this law to promote fairness and equity in my own life?
- How do cultural norms influence our understanding of marriage and family responsibilities today?
Commentators on this verse — 7 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Exodus 21:10 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleIf he take him another wife,.... The father takes another wife for his son, or the son takes another wife to himself after he has betrothed and married his father's maidservant: her food, her
Read John Gill on Exodus 21 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryIf he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. If he take him another (wife) [ yiqach (H3947)] - take; i:e., marry (Judges 14:2).
Read Robert Jamieson on Exodus 21 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleHer duty of marriage is called due benevolence, . Or, her dwelling, as the word is oft used. So here are the three great conveniences of life, food, and raiment, and habitation, all which he is to provide for her. Or, her cohabitation, or, her time, the convenient and appointed times for conjugal converse with her; for some times were disallowed for it, Leviticus 15, and when there were plurality of wives, they had their vicissitudes, ,16. Shall he not diminish, or rather, not withdraw, or deny it, as the word signifies, and as the LXX., Chaldee, Samaritan, Vulgate, and others render it,
Read Matthew Poole on Exodus 21 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsExodus 21:10 If he take him another [wife]; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.Ver. 10. Her duty of marriage.] See 1 Corinthians 7:5,
Read John Trapp on Exodus 21 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(10) If he take him another wife.—Polygamy is viewed as lawful in this passage, as elsewhere generally in the Mosaic Law, which did not venture to forbid, though to some extent discouraging it. The legislator was forced to allow many things to the Hebrews, “for the hardness of their hearts” (Matthew 19:8). Her duty of marriage.—Rather, her right of cohabitation.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Exodus 21 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges2–11. The law of slavery. Cf. Deuteronomy 15:12-18, Leviticus 25:39-55 (H and P), where there are other regulations on the same subject, in some respects differing remarkably from those of Ex., and springing evidently out of a different and more advanced stage of society. The present law deals only with Hebrew slaves: the case of foreign slaves is dealt with in Leviticus 25:44-46. The conditions of society in ancient Israel were such that slavery could not be abolished: but it was regulated, and restrictions were imposed on the power of a master over his slave (see also vv. 20 f., 26 f.). An Israelite might fall into slavery from different causes: (1) he might be sold by his parents, a case…
Read Cambridge on Exodus 21 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible10. Her duty of marriage — òåðä, cohabitation and associated conjugal rights.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Exodus 21 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife.
If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights.
If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife.
If he takes another wife, he must not diminish the first one’s food, her clothing, or her marital rights.
Tyndale line
If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
If he shall take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage shall he not diminish.
If he take him another wife, he shall not diminish her foode, her rayment, and recompence of her virginitie.
Strictly literal
If he take himself another, her food, her clothing, and her conjugal rights he shall not diminish.
'If another [woman] he take for him, her food, her covering, and her habitation, he doth not withdraw;
If he takes another [woman] for him, he does not withdraw her food, her covering, and her habitation;
If he take himself another wife, her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
If he takes another wife for himself, he must not diminish her food, clothing, or her marital rights.
From the Latin
And if he take another wife for him, he shall provide her a marriage, and raiment, neither shall he refuse the price of her chastity.
Simplified
If he takes another woman, he must not reduce the food and clothing allowances and marital rights of the first.
And if he takes another woman, her food and clothing and her married rights are not to be less.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text is supported by the Samaritan Pentateuch, which agrees word for word. The Septuagint matches 8 of the 9 words in the Hebrew text, providing a consistent witness to the verse's content.
אִם־ אַחֶ֖רֶת יִֽקַּֽח־ ל֑וֹ שְׁאֵרָ֛הּ כְּסוּתָ֥הּ וְעֹנָתָ֖הּ לֹ֥א יִגְרָֽע׃
8 of the 9 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
ואם אחרת יקח לו שׁארה כסותה וענתה לא יגרע
Agrees with the Masoretic Text here, word for word.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Exodus 21:10
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
אִם (im) is a Hebrew conjunction primarily meaning 'if' and is used in various contexts, including conditional clauses and interrogative situations. It can also express negation, alternatives, or exceptions, and appears frequently in the Old Testament. The lexicons note its use in oaths and its ability to connect different clauses, sometimes altering their meanings.
אִם conj.
hypoth. part. if
Interrog. part.
base
כִּי אם־
each part. retaining its independent force, and relating to a different clause:
that if
for if
(About 140 t.) the two particles being closely conjoined, and relating to the same clause—
limiting the prec. clause, except
the if being neglected, and treated as pleonastic, so that the clause is no longer a limitation of the preceding clause but a contradiction of it: but rather, but
after an oath, surely
base
H518a אִם conj. . hypoth. part. if
. Interrog. part.
H518b כִּי אם־ . each part. retaining its independent force, and relating to a different clause: . that if
. for if
. (About 140 t.) the two particles being closely conjoined, and relating to the same clause— . limiting the prec. clause, except
. the if being neglected, and treated as pleonastic, so that the clause is no longer a limitation of the preceding clause but a contradiction of it: but rather, but
. after an oath, surely
518 'im eem
a primitive particle; used very widely as demonstrative, lo!;
interrog., 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.
אִם (im) — if.
: if/whether_or/though
1) if
1a) conditional clauses
1a1) of possible situations
1a2) of impossible situations
1b) oath contexts
1b1) no, not
1c) if...if, whether...or, whether...or...or
1d) when, whenever
1e) since
1f) interrogative particle
1g) but rather
[כִּי] אם (ki im) — if: except.
1) except if
1a) but if
אִם (im) — if: surely no.
: surely_no
1) if
1a) conditional clauses
1a1) of possible situations
1a2) of impossible situations
1b) oath contexts
1b1) no, not
1c) if...if, whether...or, whether...or...or
1d) when, whenever
1e) since
1f) interrogative particle
1g) but rather
אִם (im) — if: surely yes.
: surely_yes
1) if
1a) conditional clauses
1a1) of possible situations
1a2) of impossible situations
1b) oath contexts
1b1) no, not
1c) if...if, whether...or, whether...or...or
1d) when, whenever
1e) since
1f) interrogative particle
1g) but rather
אִם (im) — if: until.
: until/except
Conj — ParticleHTc
אַחֵר (acher) means 'another' or 'other' and can imply something that follows or is different. It is derived from a root that suggests hindrance or being next to something else. The term appears in various contexts in the Old Testament, often referring to another person or thing.
אַחֵר adj. another
base
H312 אַחֵר another
312 'acher akh-air'
from 309; properly, hinder; generally, next, other,
etc.:--(an-)other man, following, next, strange.
see HEBREW for 0309
אַחֵר (a.cher) — another.
1) another, other, following
1a) following, further
1b) other, different
Adj — AdjHAafsc
woom'-an ('ishshah, "a woman" (feminine of 'ish, "a man"]; gune, "a woman" "wife"):
I. IN THE CREATIVE PLAN
II. IN OLD TESTAMENT TIMES
1. Prominence of Women
2. Social Equality
3. Marriage Laws
4. Inheritance
5. Domestic Duties
6. Dress and Ornaments
7. Religious Devotion and Service
(1) in Idolatry and False Religion
(2) in Spiritual Religion
III. INTER-TESTAMENTAL ERA
IV. IN NEW TESTAMENT TIMES
1. Mary and Elisabeth
2. Jesus and Women
3. In the Early Church
4. Official Service
5. Widows
6. Deaconesses
IV. LATER TIMES
1. Changes in Character and Condition
2. Notable Examples of Christian Womanhood
3. Woman in the 20th Century
The generic term "man" includes woman. In the narrative of the creation (Ge 1:26,27) Adam is a collective term for mankind. It may signify human being, male or female, or humanity entire. "God said, Let us make man .... and let them"…
Woman
Was “taken out of man” (Gen. 2:23), and therefore the man has the preeminence. “The head of the woman is the man;” but yet honour is to be shown to the wife, “as unto the weaker vessel” (1 Cor. 11:3, 8, 9; 1 Pet. 3:7). Several women are mentioned in Scripture as having been endowed with prophetic gifts, as Miriam (Ex. 15:20), Deborah (Judg. 4:4, 5), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Noadiah (Neh. 6:14), Anna (Luke 2:36, 37), and the daughters of Philip the evangelist…
Is spoken of in Scripture as the beloved and honored companion and helpmeet, not the servant, of man, Ge 2:23,24, created as the necessary completion of man, Ge 3:16 1Co 11:3,8,9 14:34,35 1Ti 2:11-14, yet specially qualified for that sphere, and as necessary in it as man in his. Man and woman are indeed essentially one, the natural qualities of each so responding to those of the other as to lay the foundation of the most tender and abiding unity. The Bible thus raised the Jewish woman high above the woman of heathenism; and the Old Testament contains some of the finest portraitures of female character. But still greater is the contrast between the women of heathenism and…
The Hebrew word לָקַח (*laqach*) means 'to take' and encompasses a wide range of actions, including to receive, seize, capture, and carry away. It can refer to taking something in hand, taking a wife, or even taking vengeance. The verb has various forms indicating different nuances, such as being taken away or captured.
לָקַח 965 vb. take
Qal
take, take in hand
take and carry along with oneself
take from, or out of
take, carry away
take away from, so as to deprive of
esp. take away life
take to or for a person
take up, upon = put upon
= fetch
take = lead, conduct (with or without contact)
take = capture, seize
take = carry off
in phr. take vengeance
Niph.
be captured, of ark
be taken away, removed
be taken, brought unto
Pu.
be taken from, out of
= be stolen from
be taken captive
be taken away, removed
Hoph.
be taken, brought unto
be taken out of
be taken away from
Hithp. lit. fire taking hold of itself, of lightning
base
H3947 לָקַח take .. take, take in hand
. take and carry along with oneself
. . take from, or out of
. take, carry away
. take away from, so as to deprive of
. esp. take away life
. take to or for a person
. take up, upon = put upon
. = fetch
. take = lead, conduct (with or without contact)
. take = capture, seize
. take = carry off
. in phr. take vengeance
. . be captured, of ark
. be taken away, removed
. be taken, brought unto
. . be taken from, out of
. = be stolen from
. be taken captive
. be taken away, removed
. . be taken, brought unto
. be taken out of
. be taken away from
. lit. fire taking hold of itself, of lightning
3947 laqach law-kakh'
a primitive root; to take (in the widest variety of
applications):--accept, bring, buy, carry away, drawn, fetch,
get, infold, X many, mingle, place, receive(-ing), reserve,
seize, send for, take (away, -ing, up), use, win.
לָקַח (la.qach) — to take: take.
: take
1) to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to take, take in the hand
1a2) to take and carry along
1a3) to take from, take out of, take, carry away, take away
1a4) to take to or for a person, procure, get, take possession of, select, choose, take in marriage, receive, accept
1a5) to take up or upon, put upon
1a6) to fetch
1a7) to take, lead, conduct
1a8) to take, capture, seize
1a9) to take, carry off 1a10) to take (vengeance)
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be captured
1b2) to be taken away, be removed
1b3) to be taken, brought unto
1c) (Pual)
1c1) to be taken from or out of
1c2) to be stolen from
1c3) to be taken captive
1c4) to be taken away, be removed
1d) (Hophal)
1d1) to be taken unto, be brought unto
1d2) to be taken out of
1d3) to be taken away
1e) (Hithpael)
1e1) to take hold of oneself
V-Qal-Imperf-3ms — Verb · Qal · imperfect third person masculine singularHVqi3ms
tak: Most of the very numerous examples of this word are still in good use and only a few call for special attention. "To take" in the sense of "capture" is still common, but when a person or living animal is in point, modern English usually adds "prisoner" or "captive." English Versions of the Bible not infrequently has this addition (Ge 14:14, etc.), but more commonly "take" is used without it (Jos 10:39; Job 5:13; Sirach 23:21; Joh 7:30, etc.). An occasional obscurity is thus caused, as in Ge 27:3, "take me venison" for "hunt venison for me." "To take advice" (2Ch…
וֹ (o) — him.
Personal object pronoun - suffix for propositions and verbs without an object: 3rd person masculine singular
HRd/Sp3ms — Preposition · suffixHRd/Sp3ms
שְׁאֵר (sh'er) refers to flesh, potentially originating from the inner flesh next to the bones. It encompasses meanings related to food, physical power, and kinship, indicating a connection by blood. The term can also imply self or body. There is a related term, שַׁאֲרָה (sha.a.rah), meaning 'kinswomen'.
שְׁאֵר n.m. flesh (perh. orig. the inner flesh, full of blood, next to the bones)
flesh
as food
fig. for physical power
in HP = flesh- (= blood-) relation (i.e. one near of kin)
= self
base
H7607 שְׁאֵר flesh (perh. orig. the inner flesh, full of blood, next to the bones)
7607 sh'er sheh-ayr'
from 7604; flesh (as swelling out), as living or for food;
generally food of any kind; figuratively, kindred by blood:--
body, flesh, food, (near) kin(-sman, -swoman), near (nigh) (of
kin).
see HEBREW for 07604
שְׁאֵר (she.er) — flesh.
1) flesh, food, body, near kin, near kinswoman
1a) flesh
1a1) as food
1a2) for physical power (fig)
1b) flesh relation, blood relation
1c) self
Also means: sha.a.rah (שַׁאֲרָה "kinswomen" H7608)
N-ms | Suff — Noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHNcmsc/Sp3fs
כְּסוּת (kcuwth) refers to a covering or clothing, with implications for concealment. It is derived from the root meaning to cover. The entries consistently emphasize its use in the context of garments or veiling.
כְּסוּת n.f. covering
covering, clothing
covering, for concealment
base
H3682 כְּסוּת covering . covering, clothing
. covering, for concealment
3682 kcuwth kes-ooth'
from 3680; a cover (garment); figuratively, a
veiling:--covering, raiment, vesture.
see HEBREW for 03680
כְּסוּת (ke.sut) — covering.
1) covering, clothing
1a) covering, clothing
1b) covering (for concealment)
N-fs | Suff — Noun common feminine singular construct · suffixHNcfsc/Sp3fs
The Hebrew word עֹנָה (*'ownah*) refers to cohabitation, particularly in the context of marriage and conjugal rights. It is derived from an unused root that suggests the idea of dwelling together. The entries consistently emphasize its sexual connotation and the duty associated with marital relations.
[עֹנָה] n.f. cohabitation
base
H5772 עֹנָה cohabitation
5772 `ownah o-naw'
from an unused root apparently meaning to dwell together;
sexual (cohabitation):--duty of marriage.
עֹנָה (o.nah) — cohabitation.
cohabitation, conjugal rights
Conj | N-fs | Suff — Conjunction · noun common feminine singular construct · suffixHC/Ncfsc/Sp3fs
לֹא (lo') is a Hebrew word meaning 'not' or 'no.' It serves as a simple negation and can imply absence or prohibition. The word can also be used in various contexts, often combined with other particles for emphasis or clarification. Its Aramaic equivalent is לָא (la), which also means 'not.'
לֹא or לוֹא adv. not
base
H3808 לֹא or לוֹא not
3808 lo' lo
or lowi {lo}; or loh (Deut. 3:11) {lo}; a primitive particle;
not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often
used with other particles (as follows):--X before, + or else,
ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never,
no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (X as though...,(can-), for) not (out
of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, +
of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.
לֹא (lo) — not.
1) not, no
1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition)
1b) not (with modifier-negation)
1c) nothing (subst)
1d) without (with particle)
1e) before (of time)
Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809)
Part — ParticleHTn
גָּרַע (gara) is a primitive root meaning to diminish or withdraw. It covers a range of actions including to scrape off, restrain, and keep back. The verb appears in various forms, indicating different nuances such as being withdrawn or restrained. The entries consistently emphasize its implications of reduction or removal.
[גָּרַע] vb. diminish, restrain, withdraw
Qal
diminish
restrain
withdraw
Niph.
be withdrawn
be restrained
Pi. withdraw = draw up
base
H1639 גָּרַע diminish, restrain, withdraw
1639 gara` gaw-rah'
a primitive root; to scrape off; by implication, to shave,
remove, lessen, withhold:--abate, clip, (di-)minish, do (take)
away, keep back, restrain, make small, withdraw.
גָּרַע (ga.ra) — to dimish.
1) to diminish, restrain, withdraw, abate, keep back, do away, take from, clip
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to diminish
1a2) to restrain
1a3) to withdraw
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be withdrawn
1b2) to be restrained
1c) (Piel) to withdraw, draw up
V-Qal-Imperf-3ms — Verb · Qal · imperfect third person masculine singularHVqi3ms