Hebrew word · H375

אֵיפֹה

'eifoh

where?

An interrogative of place: "where?" Used for ordinary questions of location (Gen 37:16, "where are they pasturing?"; Ruth 2:19, "where did you glean today?"; 1 Sam 19:22). Rarely it can mean "of what sort?" (Judg 8:18).

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) where?

2) what kind?

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 Job 38:4

Range of meaning

An interrogative of place: "where?" Used for ordinary questions of location (Gen 37:16, "where are they pasturing?"; Ruth 2:19, "where did you glean today?"; 1 Sam 19:22). Rarely it can mean "of what sort?" (Judg 8:18).

Against the English

Every English version has "Where were you", which is accurate. English readers sometimes hear it only as a put-down. The Hebrew is a concrete question about place, and that makes it sharper: name the spot where you stood.

Used elsewhere in the period

The challenge "were you there at the beginning?" was already a topos in Job, a stock argument. Eliphaz used it against Job: "Are you the first man born? Were you brought forth before the hills? Have you listened in God's council?" (15:7–8). Proverbs 8:27 has personified Wisdom say of creation "I was there (שָׁם אָנִי)". Prov 30:4 and Isa 40:12–14 string together similar "who…?" questions about creation. Egyptian scribal satire (Papyrus Anastasi I) also tests a rival with a long run of questions he cannot answer.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 37:16 אֵיפֹ֖ה where?

    “I am looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?”

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 8:18 אֵיפֹה֙ where?

    Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”

Ruth · 1

  1. Ruth 2:19 אֵיפֹ֨ה where?

    Then her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today, and where did you work? Blessed be the man who noticed you.” So she told her mother-in-law where she had worked. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 19:22 אֵיפֹ֥ה where?

    Finally, Saul himself left for Ramah and came to the large cistern at Secu, where he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” “At Naioth in Ramah,” he was told.

    Here: A plain request for a location.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 9:4 אֵיפֹ֣ה where?

    “Where is he?” replied the king. And Ziba said, “Indeed, he is in Lo-debar at the house of Machir son of Ammiel.”

    Here: A plain question about place. David does not ask who the son is or what state he is in. He only asks where he is, which suggests the king means to act.

Job · 2

  1. Job 4:7 וְ֝אֵיפֹ֗ה and where?

    Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed?

    Here: The second line repeats the first in different words. 'Where' asks for one place or case anywhere in the world where it has happened. Again the expected answer is 'nowhere.'

  2. Job 38:4 אֵיפֹ֣ה where?

    Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.

    Here: A plain question about place, the kind you ask to find someone (Gen 37:16; Ruth 2:19). Coming first, it puts the whole weight on Job's location: where were you standing?

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 49:21 אֵיפֹ֥ה where?

    Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. So who has reared them? Look, I was left all alone, so where did they come from?’”

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 3:2 אֵיפֹה֙ where?

    “Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been violated? You sat beside the highways waiting for your lovers, like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness.

    Here: 'Where?' The question needs no answer. The point is that there is no such place.

  2. Jeremiah 36:19 אֵיפֹ֥ה where?

    Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide yourselves and tell no one where you are.”

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