בַּד

From the study of Genesis 2:18

Range of meaning

From bad, “separation, part.” Ləbad- + suffix means “alone, by oneself, only.” It describes being isolated or without others, sometimes neutrally (“only,” “by itself”) and sometimes as a vulnerable condition.

Against the English

“Alone” is accurate. Modern readers may narrow it to an inner emotional state (“lonely”). The Hebrew points first to the human's situation, unpaired and without a counterpart, from which the feeling follows.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used of Jacob “left alone” before the wrestling at the Jabbok (Genesis 32:24); of Moses judging “alone,” which is not good and wears him out (Exodus 18:14, 18: “you cannot do it alone”). In Exodus 18 Jethro's verdict “the thing is not good” (lōʾ ṭôb) closely echoes this verse.

From the study of Isaiah 2:17

Range of meaning

From bad, "separation, part"; with le- and a suffix it means "by himself, alone, he only."

Against the English

Every version has "alone." The word is accurate. Its force is that it excludes rivals.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used for Yahweh's sole claim to deity and power: Psalm 72:18 ("who alone does wonders"), 148:13; Isaiah 37:16, 20 ("you alone are God"); 44:24 ("who stretched out the heavens alone").

From the study of Isaiah 63:3

Range of meaning

From bad, “separation, part”: “by oneself, alone, only.” It marks one agent acting without others, often to stress that nobody shares the deed or the credit.

Against the English

“Alone” is correct, but modern ears tend to hear loneliness or abandonment. The Hebrew stresses sole agency: nobody else did this.

How it drifted

Devotional readings that apply the verse to Christ's solitary suffering add an emotional sense of isolation. The verse itself does not have it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Compare Isaiah 44:24, “who stretched out the heavens alone (levaddi).” Its closest parallel is Isaiah 59:16 and 63:5: “I looked, but there was no helper… so my own arm brought me salvation.”