מָחָר

Genesis 30:33 מָחָ֔ר in future time

So my honesty will testify for me when you come to check on my wages in the future. If I have any goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not dark-colored, they will be considered stolen.”

Exodus 8:10 לְמָחָ֑ר to tomorrow

“Tomorrow,” Pharaoh answered. “May it be as you say,” Moses replied, “so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.

Here: A one-word answer: "For tomorrow." The little prefix le- marks the time set for the event, so it means "[let it be] for tomorrow." Pharaoh, plagued by frogs, sets the removal a day off. The text does not say why.

Exodus 8:23 לְמָחָ֥ר to tomorrow

I will make a distinction between My people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow.’”

Exodus 8:29 מָחָ֑ר tomorrow

“As soon as I leave you,” Moses said, “I will pray to the LORD, so that tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh and his officials and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceitfully again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the LORD.”

Exodus 9:5 מָחָ֗ר tomorrow

The LORD set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this in the land.”

Exodus 9:18 מָחָ֔ר tomorrow

Behold, at this time tomorrow I will rain down the worst hail that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded until now.

Exodus 10:4 מָחָ֛ר tomorrow

But if you refuse to let My people go, I will bring locusts into your territory tomorrow.

Exodus 13:14 מָחָ֖ר in future time

In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Here: Literally 'tomorrow.' Here it is used as an idiom for 'later on, in time to come,' meaning a future generation that did not see Egypt.

Exodus 16:23 מָחָ֑ר [is] tomorrow

He told them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. Then set aside whatever remains and keep it until morning.’”

Here: The punchline of the first half, marked by the main pause in the verse: all that build-up, and then “tomorrow.” Moses is speaking on the sixth day.

Exodus 17:9 מָחָ֗ר tomorrow

So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.”

Here: "Tomorrow." The accents attach it to what follows ("tomorrow I will stand"). Ancient rabbis, however, listed it among the few words whose place in the sentence cannot be settled. Either way, the battle and Moses' post both happen the next day.

Exodus 19:10 וּמָחָ֑ר and tomorrow

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes

Here: With 'today' it marks a two-day period of preparation, which builds toward 'the third day' in 19:11, when God will come down.

Exodus 32:5 מָחָֽר׃ [will be] tomorrow

When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf and proclaimed: “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”

Numbers 11:18 לְמָחָר֮ for tomorrow

And say to the people: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, because you have cried out in the hearing of the LORD, saying: ‘Who will feed us meat? For we were better off in Egypt!’ Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat.

Numbers 14:25 מָחָ֗ר tomorrow

Now since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”

Numbers 16:7 מָחָ֔ר tomorrow

and tomorrow you are to place fire and incense in them in the presence of the LORD. Then the man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. It is you sons of Levi who have taken too much upon yourselves!”

Numbers 16:16 מָחָֽר׃ tomorrow

And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.

Deuteronomy 6:20 מָחָ֖ר tomorrow

In the future, when your son asks, “What is the meaning of the decrees and statutes and ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?”

Joshua 3:5 מָחָ֗ר tomorrow

Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”

Here: Placed early for emphasis: the encounter is close and fixed. “Tomorrow” also echoes a standard formula for getting ready to meet God (Num 11:18; Josh 7:13; cf. “the third day” at Sinai, Exod 19:11).

Joshua 4:6 מָחָר֙ tomorrow

to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’

Here: Literally 'tomorrow', but used as an idiom for 'later on, in time to come'. It is the stock word in Israel's question-and-answer teaching passages (Exod 13:14; Deut 6:20).

Joshua 4:21 מָחָר֙ tomorrow

Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’

Here: Literally 'tomorrow', but here it is an idiom for 'at some future time, in days to come'. It is the same idiom as in the Passover question of Exodus 13:14.

Joshua 7:13 לְמָחָ֑ר for tomorrow

Get up and consecrate the people, saying, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Among you, O Israel, there are things devoted to destruction. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

Here: Points toward a fixed meeting with God the next day. In Exodus 19:10–11, Numbers 11:18 and Joshua 3:5, 'tomorrow' after a call to consecration signals that Yahweh is about to act in person.

Joshua 11:6 מָחָ֞ר tomorrow

Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for by this time tomorrow I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn up their chariots.”

Here: The promise is tied to a specific day. That makes it a checkable prediction and not a vague assurance.

Joshua 22:18 וּמָחָ֕ר and tomorrow

And now, would you turn away from the LORD? If you rebel today against the LORD, tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.

Joshua 22:24 מָחָ֗ר tomorrow

But in fact we have done this for fear that in the future your descendants might say to ours, ‘What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?

Here: Literally 'tomorrow', but here it means 'in time to come'. It echoes the set teaching phrase 'when your son asks you tomorrow' (Exod 13:14; Deut 6:20; Josh 4:6, 21).

Joshua 22:27 מָחָר֙ tomorrow

Rather, let it be a witness between us and you and the generations to come, that we will worship the LORD in His presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings.’ Then in the future, your descendants cannot say to ours, ‘You have no share in the LORD!’

Here: Literally "tomorrow", but used as a common way of saying "in the future, some day" (compare Exod 13:14; Josh 4:6, 21). It does not mean the next day.

Joshua 22:28 מָחָ֑ר tomorrow

Therefore we said, ‘If they ever say this to us or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the altar of the LORD that our fathers made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.’

Here: Literally 'tomorrow', used as an idiom for 'in the future, someday'. It echoes the teaching formula 'when your children ask you tomorrow' (Exod 13:14; Deut 6:20; Josh 4:6, 21).

Judges 19:9 מָחָר֙ tomorrow

When the man got up to depart with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is drawing to a close. Please spend the night. See, the day is almost over. Spend the night here, that your heart may be merry. Then you can get up early tomorrow for your journey home.”

Judges 20:28 מָחָ֖ר tomorrow

and Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, served before it.) The Israelites asked, “Should we again go out to battle against our brothers the Benjamites, or should we stop?” The LORD answered, “Fight, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”

Here: A specific time. It is new compared with the two earlier answers, which gave orders but no promise of victory.

1 Samuel 9:16 מָחָ֡ר tomorrow

“At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him ruler over My people Israel; he will save them from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”

Here: 'Tomorrow.' Together with the first word it means 'this time tomorrow', so Samuel gets advance notice that he will be able to check against what happens.

1 Samuel 11:9 מָחָ֛ר tomorrow

So they said to the messengers who had come, “Tell the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Deliverance will be yours tomorrow by the time the sun is hot.’” And when the messengers relayed this to the men of Jabesh, they rejoiced.

Here: A fixed and near deadline. It falls inside the seven days' grace the town had bargained for, so rescue will come before surrender is due.

1 Samuel 11:10 מָחָ֖ר tomorrow

Then the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Tomorrow we will come out, and you can do with us whatever seems good to you.”

Here: Put first in the sentence for emphasis. It repeats the "tomorrow" of v. 9 ("tomorrow deliverance will be yours"). The Ammonites hear a date for surrender, but the reader knows it is the date of the rescue.

1 Samuel 19:11 מָחָ֖ר tomorrow

Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal warned him, “If you do not run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!”

Here: Put first for emphasis, against “tonight”: tomorrow is too late.

1 Samuel 20:5 מָחָ֔ר [will be] tomorrow

So David told him, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon, and I am supposed to dine with the king. Instead, let me go and hide in the field until the third evening from now.

1 Samuel 20:12 מָחָר֙ tomorrow

and Jonathan said, “By the LORD, the God of Israel, I will sound out my father by this time tomorrow or the next day. If he is favorable toward you, will I not send for you and tell you?

1 Samuel 20:18 מָחָ֣ר [will be] tomorrow

Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

1 Samuel 28:19 וּמָחָ֕ר and tomorrow

Moreover, the LORD will deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. And the LORD will deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

2 Samuel 11:12 וּמָחָ֣ר and tomorrow

“Stay here one more day,” David said to Uriah, “and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.

1 Kings 19:2 מָחָר֙ tomorrow

So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I have not made your life like the lives of those you killed!”

Here: "Tomorrow". The threat is immediate and has a date on it.

1 Kings 20:6 מָחָ֗ר tomorrow

But about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to search your palace and the houses of your servants. They will seize and carry away all that is precious to you.’”

2 Kings 6:28 מָחָֽר׃ tomorrow

Then the king asked her, “What is the matter?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him, and tomorrow we will eat my son.’

2 Kings 7:1 מָחָר֙ tomorrow

Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: ‘About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel.’”

Here: The next day. It makes the prediction immediate and testable, with no room for a vague "someday."

2 Kings 7:18 מָחָ֔ר tomorrow

It happened just as the man of God had told the king: “About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel.”

2 Kings 10:6 מָחָ֖ר tomorrow

Then Jehu wrote them a second letter and said: “If you are on my side, and if you will obey me, then bring the heads of your master’s sons to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” Now the sons of the king, seventy in all, were being brought up by the leading men of the city.

2 Chronicles 20:16 מָחָר֙ tomorrow

Tomorrow you are to march down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel.

2 Chronicles 20:17 מָחָר֙ tomorrow

You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out and face them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you.’”

Here: Sets a fixed time. The promise comes with a schedule, and the people act on it at dawn (v. 20).

Esther 5:8 וּמָחָ֥ר and tomorrow

If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, may the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”

Esther 5:12 לְמָחָ֛ר for tomorrow

“What is more,” Haman added, “Queen Esther invited no one but me to join the king at the banquet she prepared, and I am invited back tomorrow along with the king.

Esther 9:13 מָחָ֗ר tomorrow

Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”

Proverbs 3:28 וּמָחָ֥ר and tomorrow

Do not tell your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I will provide”—when you already have the means.

Here: 'And tomorrow.' The usual word for the next day, and often a vague 'later'. Proverbs elsewhere warns that tomorrow is not yours to count on (27:1).

Proverbs 27:1 מָחָ֑ר tomorrow

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

Here: With "day" ("the day of tomorrow"), this can mean the next day, but it can also mean "later on, in time to come" (Gen 30:33). So it covers any future you are counting on, not only the next 24 hours.

Isaiah 22:13 מָחָ֖ר tomorrow

But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

Here: The next day, or more loosely 'very soon'. Death is pictured as right at the door.

Isaiah 56:12 מָחָ֔ר tomorrow

“Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”

Here: 'Tomorrow', standing for the near future in general. The drinkers assume it will simply continue the present.