Hebrew word · H432
אִלּוּ
ve'ilu
except
A particle for a condition that did not happen: 'if (it had been so).' It is rare in Biblical Hebrew (here and Ecclesiastes 6:6), common in later rabbinic Hebrew, and related to Aramaic. It is a mark of late Biblical Hebrew.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
if, though (contrary to fact)
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
- Range of meaning
A particle for a condition that did not happen: 'if (it had been so).' It is rare in Biblical Hebrew (here and Ecclesiastes 6:6), common in later rabbinic Hebrew, and related to Aramaic. It is a mark of late Biblical Hebrew.
- Against the English
All the main English versions handle it correctly as 'if.' The supplied lexicon gloss 'except' does not fit this verse. The contextual gloss 'and if' is right.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Ecclesiastes 6:6: 'even if (ʾillu) he lived a thousand years twice over.' It is common in the Mishnah. It fits the Persian-period setting of Esther's Hebrew.
Where it appears
Esther · 1
-
Esther 7:4 וְ֠אִלּוּ and if
For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as menservants and maidservants, I would have remained silent, because no such distress would justify burdening the king.”
Here: A rare word for an 'if' that did not happen: 'had we been sold.' Elsewhere in the Bible it appears only in Ecclesiastes 6:6, and it reflects late Hebrew influenced by Aramaic.
Ecclesiastes · 1
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Ecclesiastes 6:6 וְאִלּ֣וּ and if
even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.