הֵן

From the study of Isaiah 65:1

Range of meaning

Hinneh, "look!", combined with "me": "here I am". It is the standard reply of someone who is present, paying attention and ready to act when called.

Against the English

BSB has "Here I am!", which is the idiom. KJV and WEB have "Behold me" / "See me", which make it sound like a request to be looked at. YLT has "Behold Me". The idiom is about being present and ready to respond, not about being seen.

How it drifted

Older literal renderings translated the parts of the word (behold + me) instead of the idiom.

Used elsewhere in the period

Humans say it to God: Abraham (Gen 22:1, 11), Moses (Exod 3:4), Samuel (1 Sam 3:4–8), Isaiah (Isa 6:8). In Isaiah, God says it: Isa 52:6 ("they will know that it is I who speaks: here I am") and 58:9 ("you will cry, and he will say, 'Here I am'").

From the study of Ezekiel 28:22

Range of meaning

'Hinneh' is a pointing word: 'look!', 'here!'. With a pronoun ending it means 'here I am'. 'Al' covers 'upon, over, concerning'. In hostile settings it means 'against'. Combined, 'Look, I am against you' is a fixed formula of challenge and attack.

Against the English

'Behold, I am against you' (KJV, BSB, WEB) is accurate. 'Behold' just sounds old-fashioned to modern ears. Literally the phrase is 'here I am upon you', so the God who is 'upon' Sidon is already standing over it, poised to strike.

Used elsewhere in the period

Scholars call this the 'challenge formula' (P. Humbert's term), taken from the language of single combat. Ezekiel uses it against Jerusalem (5:8), the false prophets (13:8), Ammon (25:?), Tyre (26:3), Pharaoh (29:3, 10), Mount Seir (35:3) and Gog (38:3; 39:1). Outside Ezekiel it appears in Nahum against Nineveh (2:13; 3:5) and Jeremiah against Babylon (50:31; 51:25).

From the study of Ezekiel 24:16

Range of meaning

lāqaḥ is the everyday verb "take, receive, fetch." With God as subject and a person as object it can mean taking someone out of life: Enoch (Gen 5:24), Elijah (2 Kgs 2:3, 5, 9), or a life ended (Jonah 4:3; 1 Kgs 19:4; Ps 31:13). Hinnēh ("look!") followed by a participle is the standard Hebrew way to announce an action about to happen.

Against the English

BSB "I am about to take away" catches the sense of something imminent. KJV/WEB "I take away" / "I will take away" are correct but flatter. YLT "I am taking" keeps the participle.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same construction announces imminent divine action elsewhere in the prophets, e.g. Jer 1:15, Ezek 24:21 ("I am about to profane my sanctuary"), and Ezek 25:7. Hebrew grammars (Joüon–Muraoka §121e) describe hinnēh + participle as an imminent or near future.