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אֵת

𐤀𐤕

ʼêth

H854 preposition

SILEX Entry

Definition

A preposition indicating proximity or association, functioning primarily to express "with" or "in company with." The core sense is that of accompanying, being together with, or at someone's side, whether in physical location or figurative presence. Rarely, it can convey the sense of opposition when context demands. Most common as a marker introducing the accompanying party, group, or object in actions and relationships.

Semantic Range

with, in company with, beside, at the side of, among, in the presence of, against (rare)

Root / Etymology

From the root את (aleph-tav), which in related forms connotes nearness or proximity. This prepositional usage is distinct from the more frequent accusative marker אֵת (H853), though the roots are homographs. The prepositional אֵת is ultimately connected to the concept of "being with" or "beside," perhaps originally denoting physical closeness.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The preposition אֵת occurs less frequently than the direct object marker אֵת (H853) and is contextually distinguished by its syntactic role: it governs a noun to express accompaniment, association, or sometimes opposition (e.g., 'against'). In biblical narrative, it often highlights collaboration, participation, or physical presence alongside another (e.g., 'Moses with Aaron,' 'the elders with Joshua'). In some rare contexts, it can mean 'against' (e.g., Exod 23:22), though this usage is secondary. Over time, prepositional אֵת diminishes in frequency, with בְּ and עִם increasingly preferred for 'with.' English translations sometimes conflate this preposition with other function words, missing its nuance of collaboration or companionship, especially in older translations. Later Rabbinic Hebrew expands other prepositions for 'with,' further restricting אֵת to more formal or archaic usage.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

probably from אָנָה; properly, nearness (used only as a preposition or an adverb), near; hence, generally, with, by, at, among, etc.; against, among, before, by, for, from, in(-to), (out) of, with. Often with another prepositional prefix.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

את (Itay) — to indicate the definite direct object (grammatical marker)

Root את to be with, to be near, to accompany
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3487 יַת object-marker them
H853 אֵת object-marker
H863 אִתַּי With-me

Word Forms

26 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H854-01 אֶת et HR with object-marker with 270
H854-09 אִתּ/וֹ֙ ito HR/Sp3ms with him with him with him 153
H854-10 מֵ/אֵת֙ meet HR/R from from beside from 119
H854-08 אִתִּ֥/י iti HR/Sp1cs with me with me with me 51
H854-03 אִתָּ֔/ךְ itakhe HR/Sp2fs with you with you (feminine singular) with you 48
H854-07 אִתְּ/כֶ֑ם itekhem HR/Sp2mp with you with you (plural masculine) with you 48
H854-23 וְ/אֶת veet HC/R and with and marked-object and with 40
H854-04 אִתָּ/ם֙ itam HR/Sp3mp with them with them with them 37
H854-06 אִתְּ/ךָ֙ itekha HR/Sp2ms with you with you with you 30
H854-05 אִתָּ֨/נוּ֙ itanu HR/Sp1cp with us with us with us 27

Occurrences in Scripture

889 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H854-01 Genesis 4:1 אֶת et-3 HR [direct object marker] object-marker with
H854-01 Genesis 5:22 אֶת et HR with object-marker with
H854-01 Genesis 5:24 אֶת et HR with object-marker with
H854-01 Genesis 6:9 אֶת et HR object-marker with
H854-01 Genesis 6:13 אֶת et HR [direct object marker] object-marker with
H854-01 Genesis 6:14 אֶת et HR object-marker with
H854-03 Genesis 6:18 אִתָּ֑/ךְ itakhe HR/Sp2fs with you with you (feminine singular) with you
H854-03 Genesis 6:18 אִתָּֽ/ךְ itakhe-2 HR/Sp2fs with you with you (feminine singular) with you
H854-03 Genesis 6:19 אִתָּ֑/ךְ itakhe HR/Sp2fs with you with you (feminine singular) with you
H854-09 Genesis 7:7 אִתּ֖/וֹ ito HR/Sp3ms with him with him with him
H854-04 Genesis 7:13 אִתָּ֖/ם itam HR/Sp3mp with them with them with them
H854-09 Genesis 7:23 אִתּ֖/וֹ ito HR/Sp3ms with him with him with him
H854-09 Genesis 8:1 אִתּ֖/וֹ ito HR/Sp3ms with him with him with him
H854-17 Genesis 8:8 מֵ/אִתּ֑/וֹ meito HR/R/Sp3ms from him from beside him from beside him
H854-03 Genesis 8:16 אִתָּֽ/ךְ itakhe HR/Sp2fs with you with you (feminine singular) with you
H854-06 Genesis 8:17 אִתְּ/ךָ֜ itekha HR/Sp2ms is with you with you with you
H854-03 Genesis 8:17 אִתָּ֑/ךְ itakhe HR/Sp2fs with you with you (feminine singular) with you
H854-09 Genesis 8:18 אִתּֽ/וֹ ito HR/Sp3ms with him with him with him
H854-09 Genesis 9:8 אִתּ֖/וֹ ito HR/Sp3ms with him with him with him
H854-07 Genesis 9:9 אִתְּ/כֶ֑ם itekhem HR/Sp2mp with you with you (plural masculine) with you (plural masculine)
H854-23 Genesis 9:9 וְ/אֶֽת veet HC/R and with and marked-object and with
H854-23 Genesis 9:10 וְ/אֵ֨ת veet HC/R and with and marked-object and with
H854-07 Genesis 9:10 אִתְּ/כֶ֔ם itekhem HR/Sp2mp is with you with you (plural masculine) with you
H854-07 Genesis 9:10 אִתְּ/כֶ֑ם itekhem-2 HR/Sp2mp with you with you (plural masculine) with you
H854-07 Genesis 9:11 אִתְּ/כֶ֔ם itekhem HR/Sp2mp with you with you (plural masculine) with you (plural masculine)
H854-07 Genesis 9:12 אִתְּ/כֶ֑ם itekhem HR/Sp2mp is with you with you (plural masculine) with you (plural masculine)
H854-04 Genesis 11:31 אִתָּ֜/ם itam HR/Sp3mp with them with them with them
H854-09 Genesis 12:4 אִתּ֖/וֹ ito HR/Sp3ms with him with him with him
H854-01 Genesis 13:5 אֶת et HR with object-marker with
H854-01 Genesis 14:2 אֶת et HR (direct object marker) object-marker with
H854-23 Genesis 14:2 וְ/אֶת veet HC/R and (direct object marker) and marked-object and with
H854-09 Genesis 14:5 אִתּ֔/וֹ ito HR/Sp3ms with him with him with him
H854-04 Genesis 14:8 אִתָּ/ם֙ itam HR/Sp3mp against them with them against them
H854-01 Genesis 14:9 אֵ֣ת et HR with object-marker with
H854-01 Genesis 14:9 אֶת et-2 HR against object-marker against
H854-09 Genesis 14:17 אִתּ֑/וֹ ito HR/Sp3ms with him with him with him
H854-08 Genesis 14:24 אִתִּ֑/י iti HR/Sp1cs with me with me with me
H854-01 Genesis 15:18 אֶת et HR object-marker with
H854-09 Genesis 17:3 אִתּ֛/וֹ ito HR/Sp3ms with him with him with him
H854-03 Genesis 17:4 אִתָּ֑/ךְ itakhe HR/Sp2fs with you with you (feminine singular) with you
H854-09 Genesis 17:19 אִתּ֛/וֹ ito HR/Sp3ms with him with him with him
H854-01 Genesis 17:21 אֶת et HR object-marker with
H854-09 Genesis 17:22 אִתּ֑/וֹ ito HR/Sp3ms with him with him with him
H854-09 Genesis 17:23 אִתּ֖/וֹ ito HR/Sp3ms to him with him with him
H854-10 Genesis 17:27 מֵ/אֵ֣ת meet HR/R from from beside from
H854-09 Genesis 17:27 אִתּֽ/וֹ ito HR/Sp3ms with him with him with him
H854-01 Genesis 19:13 אֶת et-2 HR (direct object marker) object-marker with
H854-10 Genesis 19:24 מֵ/אֵ֥ת meet HR/R from from beside from beside
H854-01 Genesis 19:27 אֶת et HR object-marker with
H854-01 Genesis 19:33 אֶת et-2 HR object-marker with
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