Hebrew word · H656

אָפֵס

'afes

to end

To come to an end, be exhausted, cease to exist. The related noun ephes means 'end, nothing, non-existence' ('the ends of the earth'; 'there is none besides me').

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

(Qal) to cease, break, come to an end

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 Psalm 77:8

Range of meaning

To come to an end, be exhausted, cease to exist. The related noun ephes means 'end, nothing, non-existence' ('the ends of the earth'; 'there is none besides me').

Against the English

BSB 'gone', NIV 'vanished', KJV 'clean gone', ESV 'ceased'. All are adequate. None quite brings out the picture of a supply being used up.

Used elsewhere in the period

As a verb it occurs only five times: Gen 47:15–16 (the money is spent, 'gone'), Isa 16:4 (the oppressor comes to an end), Isa 29:20 (the ruthless one comes to nothing), and here.

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 47:15 אָפֵ֖ס it has come to an end

    When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our funds have run out!”

  2. Genesis 47:16 אָפֵ֖ס it has come to an end

    “Then bring me your livestock,” said Joseph. “Since the money is gone, I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock.”

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 77:8 הֶאָפֵ֣ס ¿ has it come to an end

    Is His loving devotion gone forever? Has His promise failed for all time?

    Here: The prefix he- marks a question; the verb pictures a supply that has run dry, the way the Egyptians' money 'ran out' in the famine (Gen 47:15). The speaker asks whether God's loyal love has been used up.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 16:4 אָפֵ֤ס he will come to an end

    Let my fugitives stay with you; be a refuge for Moab from the destroyer.” When the oppressor has gone, destruction has ceased, and the oppressors have vanished from the land,

  2. Isaiah 29:20 אָפֵ֥ס he will come to an end

    For the ruthless will vanish, the mockers will disappear, and all who look for evil will be cut down—

    Here: A rare verb for something that gives out completely, as money runs out in Genesis 47:15. The Hebrew tense is the one normally used for finished action, so the tyrant's end is announced as if it had already happened.

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