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אוֹ

𐤀𐤅

ʼôw

H176 conjunction

SILEX Entry

Root uncertain to indicate alternative, to mark choice, to separate options

Definition

Coordinating or disjunctive conjunction marking alternatives, options, or mutually exclusive possibilities; introduces an alternative or choice between two or more items or statements within legal, narrative, or poetic contexts. Semantic range includes 'or,' 'either...or,' sometimes 'whether,' and in rare instances may introduce conditional options ('if...or').

Semantic Range

or, either...or, whether, nor (with negative), alternative, otherwise, or else, in options or conditions, disjunctive particle

Root / Etymology

Root/Etymology: Root uncertain. The form אוֹ (ʼô) is a common coordinating/disjunctive particle in Biblical Hebrew. Some have proposed connection to a hypothetical root *אוּ ('to wish, desire'), but this is not supported by clear evidence. There is no direct derivation from an attested verbal root in classical Hebrew; etymology uncertain.

Historical & Contextual Notes

אוֹ appears throughout Biblical Hebrew as the principal marker for alternatives, functioning in legal, ritual, wisdom, and narrative literature to signal a choice or possibility between two or more people, objects, actions, or conditions. It is regularly used in casuistic law ('if a man ... or his neighbor ...'), in lists, and with negative particles to convey 'nor.' Its sense is generally disjunctive, distinguishing it from וְ ('and'), which is conjunctive. The English 'or' often represents אוֹ well, but in some contexts (particularly when multiple options are given), אוֹ may create an inclusiveness not always captured by English. Unlike the later usage of Greek ἤ or Latin 'aut,' אוֹ can sometimes be part of an alternative condition in oaths or curses. In post-biblical Hebrew, אוֹ continues in its basic disjunctive function. English 'either...or' and 'whether...or' sometimes overlap with אוֹ's usage but tend to be more explicitly exclusive than the underlying Hebrew, which allows for both exclusive and, at times, inclusive alternatives. It does not carry implications of desire or volition as later tradition sometimes assumed.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

presumed to be the 'constructive' or genitival form of אַו ; short for אַוָּה; desire (and so probably in Proverbs 31:4); hence (by way of alternative) or, also if; also, and, either, if, at the least, [idiom] nor, or, otherwise, then, whether.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

א־ו (uncertain) (ʾ-w (uncertain)) — alternative, choice, separation of options

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H176-01 א֥וֹ o HC or or 320
H176-02 או v HC or or 1

Occurrences in Scripture

321 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H176-01 Genesis 24:49 א֥וֹ o HC or or
H176-01 Genesis 24:50 אוֹ o HC or or
H176-01 Genesis 24:55 א֣וֹ o HC or or
H176-01 Genesis 31:43 א֥וֹ o HC or or
H176-01 Genesis 44:8 א֥וֹ o HC or or
H176-01 Genesis 44:19 אוֹ o HC or or
H176-01 Exodus 4:11 א֚וֹ o HC or or
H176-01 Exodus 4:11 א֣וֹ o-2 HC or or
H176-01 Exodus 4:11 א֥וֹ o-3 HC or or
H176-01 Exodus 4:11 א֣וֹ o-4 HC or or
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