טֶ֫רֶם

Genesis 2:5 טֶ֚רֶם טֶ֣רֶם not yet

Now no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth, nor had any plant of the field sprouted, for the LORD God had not yet sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

Here: "Not yet". With the verb after it, this word describes something that had not happened at the time of the story. It sets a "before anything had grown" scene. It does not say plants existed in some earlier form.

Genesis 19:4 טֶרֶם֮ before

Before they had gone to bed, all the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house.

Here: Literally "not yet." It opens the verse with something unfinished: the evening had not ended when the trouble arrived.

Genesis 24:15 טֶרֶם֮ not yet

Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.

Here: 'Not yet'. Something happens while something else is still unfinished. The answer comes before the request is even complete.

Genesis 24:45 טֶ֨רֶם not yet

And before I had finished praying in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

Genesis 27:4 בְּטֶ֥רֶם <in> before

Then prepare a tasty dish that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”

Here: 'Before', 'while there is still time'. It adds urgency. He must act while he is alive to speak.

Genesis 27:33 בְּטֶ֥רֶם <in> before

Isaac began to tremble violently and said, “Who was it, then, who hunted the game and brought it to me? Before you came in, I ate it all and blessed him—and indeed, he will be blessed!”

Genesis 37:18 וּבְטֶ֙רֶם֙ and just before

Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him.

Here: 'Before' with a following imperfect verb refers to a past moment that had not yet happened: the plot is formed before Joseph has even reached them, so before he says or does anything.

Genesis 41:50 בְּטֶ֥רֶם <in> before

Before the years of famine arrived, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

Genesis 45:28 בְּטֶ֥רֶם <in> before

“Enough!” declared Israel. “My son Joseph is still alive! I will go to see him before I die.”

Exodus 1:19 בְּטֶ֨רֶם <in> before

The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.”

Exodus 9:30 טֶ֣רֶם not yet

But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear the LORD our God.”

Exodus 10:7 הֲטֶ֣רֶם ¿ not yet

Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt lies in ruins?”

Exodus 12:34 טֶ֣רֶם before

So the people took their dough before it was leavened, carrying it on their shoulders in kneading bowls wrapped in clothing.

Leviticus 14:36 בְּטֶ֨רֶם <in> before

The priest must order that the house be cleared before he enters it to examine the mildew, so that nothing in the house will become unclean. After this, the priest shall go in to inspect the house.

Numbers 11:33 טֶ֖רֶם not yet

But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and the LORD struck them with a severe plague.

Here: "Not yet / before": stresses that the judgment came before the act of eating was finished.

Deuteronomy 31:21 בְּטֶ֣רֶם <in> before

And when many troubles and afflictions have come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants. For I know their inclination, even before I bring them into the land that I swore to give them.”

Here: 'Before', meaning before they have tasted the land's plenty that will spoil them (v.20).

Joshua 2:8 טֶ֣רֶם not yet

Before the spies lay down for the night, Rahab went up on the roof

Joshua 3:1 טֶ֥רֶם before

Early the next morning Joshua got up and left Shittim with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.

Here: "Before / while not yet." With the following verb it builds suspense: the crossing is coming but has not happened yet.

Judges 14:18 בְּטֶ֙רֶם֙ <in> before

Before sunset on the seventh day, the men of the city said to Samson: “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” So he said to them: “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle!”

Ruth 3:14 בְּטֶ֛רֶם <in> before

So she lay down at his feet until morning, but she got up before anyone else could recognize her. Then Boaz said, “Do not let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.”

1 Samuel 2:15 בְּטֶרֶם֮ <in> before

Even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”

1 Samuel 3:3 טֶ֣רֶם not yet

Before the lamp of God had gone out, Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was located.

1 Samuel 3:7 טֶ֖רֶם וְטֶ֛רֶם not yet, and not yet

Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, because the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

1 Samuel 9:13 בְּטֶרֶם֩ <in> before

As soon as you enter the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; after that, the guests will eat. Go up at once; you will find him.”

2 Kings 2:9 בְּטֶ֖רֶם <in> before

After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken away from you?” “Please, let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

Here: "Before": the time is short. Both men, and the prophet groups along the way (vv. 3, 5), know Elijah is about to go.

2 Kings 6:32 בְּטֶ֣רֶם <in> before

Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door to keep him out. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”

Job 10:21 בְּטֶ֣רֶם <in> before

before I go—never to return—to a land of darkness and gloom,

Here: With the prefix bᵉ- it means 'before (it happens)'. It ties this verse to the plea in v. 20: give me a little relief *before* the end comes. The same phrase, with the same verb, ends Psalm 39 (39:13 in Hebrew numbering).

Psalm 39:13 בְּטֶ֖רֶם <in> before

Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may again be cheered before I depart and am no more.”

Psalm 58:9 בְּטֶ֤רֶם <in> before

Before your pots can feel the burning thorns—whether green or dry—He will sweep them away.

Here: "Before, while not yet." This sets the tone of the whole verse, which is about speed: the end comes before something has even had time to happen.

Psalm 90:2 בְּטֶ֤רֶם׀ <in> before

Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

Here: 'In the not-yet of…'. It takes the reader back to a moment when the mountains did not exist yet, and governs both the mountains clause and the earth clause.

Psalm 119:67 טֶ֣רֶם before

Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I keep Your word.

Here: Opens the 'before' half of a before-and-now contrast. Followed by a verb in the imperfect form, it points to the past: 'before it happened that I was brought low.' It also supplies the letter ט (teth) that every line of this eight-verse stanza must begin with.

Proverbs 8:25 בְּטֶ֣רֶם <in> before

Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth,

Here: The preposition bə- ("in, at") joined to ṭerem ("not yet"): literally "at the not-yet" of the mountains, the time when they did not exist. It is the same word used in the "when there was not yet" opening of the second creation account (Genesis 2:5).

Proverbs 18:13 בְּטֶ֣רֶם <in> before

He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.

Here: 'While it is not yet the case that…'. The reply comes before the hearing has happened, so the order is backwards.

Proverbs 30:7 בְּטֶ֣רֶם <in> before

Two things I ask of You—do not refuse me before I die:

Here: Literally 'in the not-yet': in the time before something happens. With the next word it marks out the whole span of time before the speaker's death.

Isaiah 7:16 בְּטֶ֨רֶם <in> before

For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

Isaiah 8:4 בְּטֶ֙רֶם֙ <in> before

For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

Isaiah 17:14 בְּטֶ֥רֶם <in> before

In the evening, there is sudden terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us and the lot of those who plunder us.

Isaiah 28:4 בְּטֶ֣רֶם <in> before

The fading flower of his beautiful splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest: Whoever sees it will take it in his hand and swallow it.

Isaiah 42:9 בְּטֶ֥רֶם <in> before

Behold, the former things have happened, and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

Here: "Before." The point of the whole verse sits here: the announcement comes before the event, so no one can claim afterward that they saw it coming on their own (compare 48:5–7).

Isaiah 48:5 בְּטֶ֥רֶם <in> before

Therefore I declared it to you long ago; I announced it before it came to pass, so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this; my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’

Isaiah 65:24 טֶֽרֶם־ before

Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

Here: Literally "not yet." Followed by a verb it means "before (they do it)." God's answer arrives ahead of the request: the call has not even happened yet.

Isaiah 66:7 בְּטֶ֥רֶם בְּטֶ֨רֶם <in> before

“Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before she was in pain, she delivered a boy.

Jeremiah 1:5 בְּטֶ֨רֶם וּבְטֶ֛רֶם <in> before, and <in> before

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Here: Literally 'in the not-yet'. It sets the scene before anything about Jeremiah existed. In Hebrew it takes a verb that looks future ('before I form') even when the event lies in the past, so it means 'before I had formed you'.

Jeremiah 13:16 בְּטֶ֣רֶם וּבְטֶ֛רֶם <in> before, and <in> before

Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.

Here: 'Before it happens', 'while it is still not yet'. Repeated twice, it shows a window of time that is closing.

Jeremiah 38:10 בְּטֶ֥רֶם <in> before

So the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”

Jeremiah 47:1 בְּטֶ֛רֶם <in> before

This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.

Ezekiel 16:57 בְּטֶרֶם֮ <in> before

before your wickedness was uncovered? Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines—all those around you who despise you.

Zephaniah 2:2 בְּטֶ֙רֶם֙ בְּטֶ֣רֶם׀ בְּטֶ֙רֶם֙ <in> before

before the decree takes effect and the day passes like chaff, before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the Day of the LORD’s anger comes upon you.

Here: 'Before' (literally 'in the not-yet'). It opens the first of three 'before' clauses, a countdown that sets the deadline for the call in 2:1 to 'gather yourselves'.

Haggai 2:15 מִטֶּ֧רֶם from before

Now consider carefully from this day forward: Before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD,