Hebrew word · H1887

הֵא

he'-

behold

A pointing word: 'here, look'. It is related to the more common הֵן and הִנֵּה.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

behold!, lo!

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 Genesis 47:23

Range of meaning

A pointing word: 'here, look'. It is related to the more common הֵן and הִנֵּה.

Against the English

KJV 'lo', WEB 'behold, here is', BSB simply 'here is'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Outside this verse it occurs only in Ezekiel 16:43. Some scholars think it is a dialect or Aramaic-type form (compare Aramaic hāʾ, 'behold'). Others think it is simply a shortened native form.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 47:23 הֵֽא־ here!

    Then Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh this day, here is seed for you to sow in the land.

    Here: A rare pointing word, found elsewhere only in Ezekiel 16:43. In the middle of the sentence it marks the turn from 'here is what you have given' to 'here is what I give you.'

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 16:43 הֵ֜א there!

    Because you did not remember the days of your youth, but enraged Me with all these things, I will surely bring your deeds down upon your own head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed this lewdness on top of all your other abominations?

    Here: A rare short form of 'behold' (elsewhere only in Gen 47:23). It points sharply at what follows: there it is.

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