Hebrew word · H2191

זְעֵיר

ze'eir

little

Zəʿêr means 'a little, a bit'. It is rare in Hebrew (here, v. 10 and Job 36:2) but common in Aramaic (compare Dan 7:8 zəʿêrâ). Šām means 'there'. Together: 'a little there'.

Appears 5 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) a little

1a) of quantity

1b) of time

Aramaic equivalent: ze.er (זְעֵיר "little" H2192)

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 28:13

Range of meaning

Zəʿêr means 'a little, a bit'. It is rare in Hebrew (here, v. 10 and Job 36:2) but common in Aramaic (compare Dan 7:8 zəʿêrâ). Šām means 'there'. Together: 'a little there'.

Against the English

'Here a little, there a little' implies gathering small bits from different places. The Hebrew says 'there' both times. If the phrase is not simply part of the chant, it may be a teacher's 'a little more there' or 'wait a bit'.

How it drifted

English made the repeated phrase sound like 'here … there' for variety. That supported the idea of collecting verses from all over the Bible.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint: eti mikron eti mikron, 'yet a little, yet a little'. Vulgate: modicum ibi, modicum ibi, 'a little there, a little there'. The Vulgate keeps 'there … there'.

From the study of Isaiah 28:10

Range of meaning

Ze'eir means "a little, a small amount". Besides this verse and verse 13 it appears in Hebrew only at Job 36:2 ("bear with me a little"), and its Aramaic relative describes the "little" horn in Daniel 7:8. Sham is the everyday word for "there". Some scholars who hear a classroom drill here wonder whether ze'eir could also suggest "little one", a teacher's call to a pupil, but this remains a proposal.

Against the English

Nearly all English versions print "here a little, there a little" or "a little here, a little there". The Hebrew says "there" both times: "a little there, a little there". The contrast between two places is added to make natural English. NJPS's "now here, now there" likewise smooths the phrase.

How it drifted

"Here a little, there a little" naturally suggests gathering bits from different places. That fits the later idea of assembling doctrine from scattered passages, but the Hebrew repeats itself and does not describe moving between locations.

Used elsewhere in the period

The word is rare and Aramaic-coloured in Hebrew. The Septuagint renders the phrase "yet a little, yet a little", which it seems to take as time: a short while longer. The Vulgate has modicum ibi ("a little there"), which is close to the Hebrew.

Where it appears

Job · 1

  1. Job 36:2 זְ֭עֵיר a little

    “Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you that there is more to be said on God’s behalf.

Isaiah · 4

  1. Isaiah 28:10 זְעֵ֥יר זְעֵ֥יר a little

    For they hear: “Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there.”

    Here: A rare word with an Aramaic flavour. It suggests tiny portions, the sort of small helping you give a child, and the speaker is complaining about being fed in such small bites.

  2. Isaiah 28:13 זְעֵ֥יר זְעֵ֣יר a little

    Then the word of the LORD to them will become: “Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there,” so that they will go stumbling backward and will be injured, ensnared, and captured.

    Here: A rare word that sounds Aramaic, 'a little (bit)'. It may be a teacher's 'a bit more', 'wait a little', or simply more chant.

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