אַי

Genesis 3:9 אַיֶּֽכָּה׃ where [are]? you

But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”

Here: Two words merged into one: 'where?' plus 'you'. This spelling is found only here in the Hebrew Bible. In the story it works as a summons to come out and give an account, not as a search for missing information.

Genesis 4:9 אֵ֖י where?

And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Here: A short, blunt "where?" The story shows Yahweh already aware (verse 10), so it works as an official summons to account, and it echoes "Where are you?" put to Cain's father in Genesis 3:9.

Genesis 16:8 אֵֽי־ where?

“Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.

Exodus 2:20 וְאַיּ֑וֹ and where [is]? he

“So where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.”

Deuteronomy 32:37 אֵ֣י where?

He will say: “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,

Judges 13:6 אֵֽי־ where?

So the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. His appearance was like the angel of God, exceedingly awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

Here: The question word “where?” It begins the standard question about where a stranger comes from.

1 Samuel 9:18 אֵי־ where?

Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”

1 Samuel 25:11 אֵ֥י where?

Why should I take my bread and water and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give them to these men whose origin I do not know?”

1 Samuel 26:16 אֵֽי־ where?

This thing you have done is not good. As surely as the LORD lives, all of you deserve to die, since you did not protect your lord, the LORD’s anointed. Now look around. Where are the king’s spear and water jug that were by his head?”

1 Samuel 30:13 וְאֵ֥י and where?

Then David asked him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” “I am an Egyptian,” he replied, “the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me three days ago when I fell ill.

2 Samuel 1:3 אֵ֥י where?

“Where have you come from?” David asked. “I have escaped from the Israelite camp,” he replied.

Here: A question word, 'where?'. Joined to the next word it makes the standard Hebrew idiom for 'from where?'.

2 Samuel 1:13 אֵ֥י where?

And David inquired of the young man who had brought him the report, “Where are you from?” “I am the son of a foreigner,” he answered. “I am an Amalekite.”

2 Samuel 15:2 אֵֽי־ where?

He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out and ask, “What city are you from?” And if he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,”

1 Kings 13:12 אֵֽי־ where?

“Which way did he go?” their father asked. And his sons showed him the way taken by the man of God, who had come from Judah.

1 Kings 22:24 אֵי־ where?

Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when He departed from me to speak with you?”

Here: A question word. Paired with the next word it means 'which way?' or 'where, then?'. The question is rhetorical and sneering, not a request for information.

2 Kings 3:8 אֵי־ where?

Then he asked, “Which way shall we go up?” “By way of the Desert of Edom,” replied Joram.

2 Kings 19:13 אַיּ֤וֹ where [is]? he

Where are the kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

2 Chronicles 18:23 אֵ֣י where?

Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when He departed from me to speak with you?”

Esther 7:5 וְאֵֽי־ and where?

Then King Xerxes spoke up and asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?”

Job 2:2 אֵ֥י where?

“Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”

Here: Question word, joined with the next word to make the set phrase "from where?"

Job 14:10 וְאַיּֽוֹ׃ and where [is]? he

But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?

Here: One compact word: 'and where (is) he?' The verse ends on a question, not a statement. No answer is given, and the silence is the point. You look for him and he is not there, unlike the stump that shows itself again with green shoots.

Job 20:7 אַיּֽוֹ׃ where [is]? he

he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’

Here: "Where is he?" A single word: "where" with "he" attached to it. The same rare form appears in Job's own lament in 14:10 ("man breathes his last, and where is he?"). Zophar picks up Job's words and turns them into a verdict on the wicked.

Job 28:12 וְאֵ֥י and where?

But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?

Here: A second 'where?' that matches the first. The two halves of the line ask the same question in different words, which is how Hebrew poetry builds emphasis.

Job 28:20 וְאֵ֥י and where?

From where, then, does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?

Job 38:19 אֵי־ אֵי־ where?

Where is the way to the home of light? Do you know where darkness resides,

Here: A question word asking for a location. It opens a question that sounds like a request for directions, and Job has no way to answer it.

Job 38:24 אֵי־ where?

In which direction is the lightning dispersed, or the east wind scattered over the earth?

Proverbs 31:4 אֵ֣י where?

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,

Here: In the reading tradition (Qere) this is 'where?': rulers should not be the kind who call 'Where's the drink?' The written consonants (Kethiv) give 'or', meaning 'nor for rulers [is] beer'. Many scholars repoint it as 'desire', giving 'craving for beer'. Every option gives the same basic sense: drink should not have a hold on a ruler.

Ecclesiastes 2:3 אֵי־ where?

I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

Here: Together with 'zeh' it forms the question word 'which?' or 'what?'. The supplied gloss 'where?' is the root sense, but here the combined form asks 'which thing'.

Ecclesiastes 11:6 אֵ֣י where?

Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.

Here: Joined with the next word, "which (one)?" This is a late Hebrew idiom that later became the ordinary word for "which".

Isaiah 19:12 אַיָּם֙ where [are]? they

Where are your wise men now? Let them tell you and reveal what the LORD of Hosts has planned against Egypt.

Isaiah 50:1 אֵ֣י where?

This is what the LORD says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold for your iniquities, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

Here: Starts a challenge, as in a court case: produce the evidence. It is a rhetorical question. The expected answer is that no such document can be shown.

Isaiah 66:1 אֵי־ וְאֵי־ where?, and where?

This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?

Here: A question word, "where?" With zeh after it, it can also mean "which? what sort of?" (as in 1 Kgs 13:12, "which way did he go?"). It opens a question that expects no answer.

Jeremiah 5:7 אֵ֤י where?

“Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery and assembled at the houses of prostitutes.

Here: A question word, literally 'where?'. With the next word it forms an unusual phrase meaning roughly 'on what basis?' It opens a question that expects the answer 'there is none.'

Jeremiah 6:16 אֵי־ where?

This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’

Here: Starts the actual question the people are to ask, a traveler's question: 'Which way is it?'

Jonah 1:8 וְאֵֽי־ and where?

“Tell us now,” they demanded, “who is to blame for this calamity that is upon us? What is your occupation, and where have you come from? What is your country, and who are your people?”

Micah 7:10 אַיּ֖וֹ where [is]? he

Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame—she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like mud in the streets.

Here: 'Where' with a 'him' ending attached: 'Where is he—YHWH your God?' The form makes the taunt pointed: point him out, if he is anywhere.

Nahum 3:17 אַיָּֽם׃ where [are]? they

Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows where.

Here: 'Where are they?' A mocking question that hangs at the end of the line. Some ancient and modern readers take it instead as 'Woe!' or join it to verse 18 (see textual notes).