Hebrew word · H1107

בִּלְעֲדֵי

bil'adai

beside

Bilʿadey means 'apart from, except, without'. With the prefix 'from' it marks a sharp exclusion. ʾEn denies that something exists. ʾElohim is the general word for god(s) or divine beings, used for Israel's God, for the gods of the nations, and sometimes for spirit beings (Ps 82:1; 1 Sam 28:13).

Appears 17 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

apart from, except, without, besides

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 44:6

Range of meaning

Bilʿadey means 'apart from, except, without'. With the prefix 'from' it marks a sharp exclusion. ʾEn denies that something exists. ʾElohim is the general word for god(s) or divine beings, used for Israel's God, for the gods of the nations, and sometimes for spirit beings (Ps 82:1; 1 Sam 28:13).

Against the English

English 'no God but me' with a capital G can sound as if there is only one candidate for the title. The Hebrew, without an article, says something broader: outside Yahweh there is nothing that deserves to be called a god at all.

Used elsewhere in the period

Parallel denials in Isaiah 40–48: 43:10–11; 44:8 ('Is there a god apart from me? There is no Rock'); 45:5, 6, 14, 18, 21–22; 46:9. Deut 4:35, 39; 32:39. Compare Isa 47:8, 10, where Babylon boasts 'I am, and there is none besides me', the same kind of formula used to claim to be beyond any rival.

From the study of Isaiah 43:11

Range of meaning

Bilʿădê means "except, apart from, without." With the prefix min ("from") and the suffix "me," it means "apart from me / besides me," marking something off from all others.

Against the English

KJV's "beside me" meant "besides me" in 1611. A modern reader can hear "standing next to me," which nearly reverses the point. "Besides me," "apart from me," or "but me" are clearer.

How it drifted

In English, "beside" (next to) and "besides" (other than) have since split into separate words.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same phrase recurs in Isaiah's monotheistic refrains: 44:6 "besides me there is no God," 44:8, 45:6, 45:21 (with the near-synonym zûlātî). Compare Hosea 13:4, which has biltî.

From the study of 2 Samuel 22:32

Range of meaning

'Apart from, except, besides, without'. It is made of the negative bal plus ʿad ('up to'), so 'not up to, outside of'. With min ('from') in front it means 'apart from' or 'other than'.

Against the English

'Besides', 'except', 'but' and 'save' all express it. KJV's 'save' is the old sense 'except', but modern readers may take it as the verb 'save' (rescue), which is not in this word.

How it drifted

Only in KJV's archaic 'save', which drifted in everyday English from 'except' toward 'rescue'.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same construction appears in Isa 43:11 ('apart from me there is no saviour'), Isa 44:6, 8 and 45:6, 21 ('there is no god apart from me'), where it carries the strongest exclusive claims in the Hebrew Bible.

Where it appears

Genesis · 3

  1. Genesis 14:24 בִּלְעָדַ֗י apart from me

    I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share for the men who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. They may take their portion.”

    Here: Literally "apart from me / without me." Standing at the head of the sentence it works as a curt refusal: "Nothing for me!" It closes the oath begun in v. 22–23.

  2. Genesis 41:16 בִּלְעָדָ֑י apart from me

    “I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”

    Here: A preposition meaning 'apart from, except, without', with the ending 'me'. It stands alone as a short exclamation, 'Not me!' or 'It's not in me!', and the Hebrew accents mark a pause right after it. Joseph flatly refuses the credit Pharaoh has just offered him.

  3. Genesis 41:44 וּבִלְעָדֶ֗יךָ and apart from you

    And Pharaoh declared to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission, no one in all the land of Egypt shall lift his hand or foot.”

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 5:20 מִֽבַּלְעֲדֵ֖י from except

    But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority and have defiled yourself and lain carnally with a man other than your husband’—

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 22:19 מִֽבַּלְעֲדֵ֔י <from> except

    If indeed the land of your inheritance is unclean, then cross over to the land of the LORD’s possession, where the LORD’s tabernacle stands, and take possession of it among us. But do not rebel against the LORD or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the LORD our God.

2 Samuel · 2

  1. 2 Samuel 22:32 מִבַּלְעֲדֵ֣י מִֽבַּלְעֲדֵ֥י <from> except

    For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

    Here: Built from min ('from') + bal ('not') + ʿad ('as far as'): roughly 'outside of', 'with the exception of'. The singer is not saying YHWH beats other candidates. He is saying no other candidates qualify.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 18:25 הֲמִבַּלְעֲדֵ֣י ¿ from without

    So now, was it apart from the LORD that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The LORD Himself said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”

Job · 1

  1. Job 34:32 בִּלְעֲדֵ֣י apart from

    Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’

    Here: Marks what lies outside the speaker's own perception: 'beyond what I see'. The Hebrew leaves out the word 'that which', so the phrase means the faults the speaker cannot see in himself.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 18:31 מִבַּלְעֲדֵ֣י <from> except

    For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

Isaiah · 6

  1. Isaiah 36:10 הֲמִבַּלְעֲדֵ֣י ¿ <from> without

    So now, was it apart from the LORD that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The LORD Himself said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”

  2. Isaiah 43:11 מִבַּלְעָדַ֖י <from> except me

    I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no Savior but Me.

    Here: "From" plus "except, without" plus "me": "apart from me." It marks Yahweh off from everything else. This phrase runs like a refrain through Isaiah 43–45 (44:6, 8; 45:6, 21).

  3. Isaiah 44:6 וּמִבַּלְעָדַ֖י and <from> except me

    Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.

    Here: Built from 'and' + 'from' + 'apart from' + 'me'. It is a strong exclusion: 'outside of me, leaving me aside'.

  4. Isaiah 44:8 מִבַּלְעָדַ֔י <from> except me

    Do not tremble or fear. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one.”

    Here: 'Apart from me', 'except me': is there any god outside of or other than YHWH?

  5. Isaiah 45:6 בִּלְעָדָ֑י [is] apart from me

    so that all may know, from where the sun rises to where it sets, that there is none but Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.

    Here: 'Apart from me / without me.' It means 'except', not 'next to'. Nothing divine exists outside him or without him.

  6. Isaiah 45:21 מִבַּלְעָדַ֔י <from> except me

    Speak up and present your case—yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the LORD? There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me.

    Here: 'Apart from me.' It sets a strict boundary: anything outside of Yahweh does not count.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 44:19 הֲמִֽבַּלְעֲדֵ֣י ¿ <from> without

    “Moreover,” said the women, “when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ knowledge that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.