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אֲנִי

𐤀𐤍𐤉

ʼănîy

H589 pronoun

SILEX Entry

Definition

First person singular independent pronoun meaning 'I' or 'me.' It identifies the speaker as the subject, object, or agent of an action or situation. While most commonly indicating the individual self in narrative, discourse, or prayer, it may sometimes appear with emphatic, contrastive, or reflexive nuances. The form may also be pleonastic (adding emphasis or clarity), and in poetic or formal speech may occur in parallel with the longer form אָנֹכִי (anokhî).

Semantic Range

I (subject), me (object), myself (emphatic or reflexive), as for me (contrastive), pleonastic pronoun, poetic or parallel use with אָנֹכִי (anokhî)

Root / Etymology

Root/Etymology: The word is generally connected to the pronominal root *ʾnkh or *ʾnk, which yields both אָנֹכִי (anokhî) and אֲנִי (ʼănî) in Hebrew. Contraction and vowel changes led to the development of the shorter form אֲנִי from the more archaic אָנֹכִי. Both are ultimately cognate with pronouns found across Northwest Semitic languages, such as Ugaritic anaku and Akkadian anāku. The exact root meaning is a matter of comparative Semitic linguistics rather than Hebrew verbal roots per se.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Historical & Contextual Notes: אֲנִי is the common first person singular pronoun throughout the Hebrew Bible. The longer form אָנֹכִי is more frequent in older, poetic, or formal contexts (e.g., in Deuteronomy, Job, Isaiah), while אֲנִי predominates in later, prose, or conversational registers (e.g., historical books, Jeremiah, Psalms). Both forms coexist, sometimes even within the same passage, but they are functionally equivalent. In rare instances, אֲנִי occurs with added particles for emphasis (e.g., אֲנִי אָנִי 'I, I myself'). Unlike English, Hebrew pronouns are often optional because the verb conjugation already signals person and number; pronouns are used for emphasis, distinction, or explicitness. In some late biblical and post-biblical periods, אֲנַחְנוּ ('we') and אֲנִי (as representative or editorial 'I') can overlap in poetic texts, but אֲנִי fundamentally remains singular. Traditional English translations as 'I' or 'me' are usually adequate, but idiomatic uses for emphasis or contrast are sometimes missed in translation. The use of 'myself' (reflexive) is an example where English syntax demands clarification, but the Hebrew אֲנִי is not strictly reflexive. The pronoun is not a noun and does not denote gender or status, only person and number.

Translation Consistency

primary "I" 48 occurrences

אֲנִי is the first‑person singular independent pronoun. The natural, idiomatic English rendering for the full range (subject, object in contexts where the system will inflect, emphatic/myself, contrastive) is “I.” It is by far the most common form in the corpus (865/874) and best preserves the speaker‑centered meaning across uses; alternate object or emphatic forms (me, myself, as for me) are handled through inflection and context.

Alternatives (2 occurrences):
"me" (2x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

lemma אֲנַי second vowel, corrected to אֲנִי; contracted from אָנֹכִי; I; I, (as for) me, mine, myself, we, [idiom] which, [idiom] who.

Bantu Hebrew

Language Bantu Word Transliteration Meaning
Bemba Ine I, me
Chichewa ine I, me
Kikongo nga I, me
Kikuyu niĩ I, me
Kinyarwanda njye I, me

See all 19 languages →

Root Family

אנכ (ʼănachnûw) — to be, to exist, to be oneself, to refer to self

Root אנכ I, me, self
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H587 אֲנַחְנוּ we ourselves

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H589-01 אֲנִ֤י ani HPp1cs I I I 693
H589-04 וַ/אֲנִי vaani HC/Pp1cs and I and I and I 178
H589-03 שֶׁ/אֲנִ֥י sheani HTr/Pp1cs because I that I that I 2
H589-02 הַ/אֲנִ֥י haani HTi/Pp1cs Shall I I I 1

Occurrences in Scripture

874 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H589-04 Genesis 6:17 וַ/אֲנִ֗י vaani HC/Pp1cs And I and I and I
H589-04 Genesis 9:9 וַ/אֲנִ֕י vaani HC/Pp1cs And I and I and I
H589-01 Genesis 9:12 אֲנִ֣י ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 14:23 אֲנִ֖י ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 15:7 אֲנִ֣י ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 17:1 אֲנִי ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 17:4 אֲנִ֕י ani HPp1cs As for me I I
H589-04 Genesis 18:13 וַ/אֲנִ֥י vaani HC/Pp1cs now that I and I and I
H589-01 Genesis 18:17 אֲנִי֙ ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 18:17 אֲנִ֥י ani-2 HPp1cs I I I
H589-04 Genesis 22:5 וַ/אֲנִ֣י vaani HC/Pp1cs and I and I and I
H589-01 Genesis 24:45 אֲנִי֩ ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 27:8 אֲנִ֖י ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 27:24 אָֽנִי ani HPp1cs I am I I
H589-01 Genesis 27:32 אֲנִ֛י ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 27:34 אָ֖נִי ani HPp1cs me I me
H589-01 Genesis 27:38 אָ֖נִי ani HPp1cs me I me
H589-01 Genesis 28:13 אֲנִ֣י ani HPp1cs I am I I
H589-01 Genesis 31:44 אֲנִ֣י ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 31:52 אָ֗נִי ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-04 Genesis 33:14 וַ/אֲנִ֞י vaani HC/Pp1cs and I and I and I
H589-04 Genesis 34:30 וַ/אֲנִי֙ vaani HC/Pp1cs and I and I and I
H589-01 Genesis 34:30 אֲנִ֥י ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 35:11 אֲנִ֨י ani HPp1cs I am I I
H589-01 Genesis 37:10 אֲנִי֙ ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-04 Genesis 37:30 וַ/אֲנִ֖י vaani HC/Pp1cs and I and I and I
H589-01 Genesis 37:30 אֲנִי ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 40:16 אֲנִי֙ ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 41:9 אֲנִ֖י ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 41:11 אֲנִ֣י ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-04 Genesis 41:15 וַ/אֲנִ֗י vaani HC/Pp1cs and I and I and I
H589-01 Genesis 41:44 אֲנִ֣י ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 42:18 אֲנִ֥י ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-04 Genesis 42:37 וַ/אֲנִ֖י vaani HC/Pp1cs and I and I and I
H589-04 Genesis 43:14 וַ/אֲנִ֕י vaani HC/Pp1cs And as for me and I and I
H589-01 Genesis 45:3 אֲנִ֣י ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 45:4 אֲנִי֙ ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-04 Genesis 48:7 וַ/אֲנִ֣י vaani HC/Pp1cs And as for me and I and I
H589-04 Genesis 48:22 וַ/אֲנִ֞י vaani HC/Pp1cs And I and I and I
H589-01 Genesis 49:29 אֲנִי֙ ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Genesis 50:19 אָֽנִי ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-04 Exodus 2:9 וַ/אֲנִ֖י vaani HC/Pp1cs and I and I and I
H589-04 Exodus 3:19 וַ/אֲנִ֣י vaani HC/Pp1cs But I and I and I
H589-04 Exodus 4:21 וַ/אֲנִי֙ vaani HC/Pp1cs but I and I and I
H589-01 Exodus 6:2 אֲנִ֥י ani HPp1cs I am I I
H589-01 Exodus 6:5 אֲנִ֣י ani HPp1cs I I I
H589-01 Exodus 6:6 אֲנִ֣י ani HPp1cs I am I I
H589-01 Exodus 6:7 אֲנִ֤י ani HPp1cs I am I I
H589-01 Exodus 6:8 אֲנִ֥י ani HPp1cs I am I I
H589-04 Exodus 6:12 וַ/אֲנִ֖י vaani HC/Pp1cs and I am and I and I
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