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אִין

𐤀𐤉𐤍

ʼîyn

H371 particle

SILEX Entry

Root אַיִן to be lacking, to be absent, not to exist

Definition

A negative particle, functioning as an interrogative marker for negation—'is it not?', 'is not...?'— or, less commonly, as an emphatic negative 'not, there is not.' It appears chiefly in interrogative constructions or emphatic contexts, carrying the sense of negation, or indicating absence or non-existence, closely paralleling אַיִן (ʾayin). Occasionally, it is also used simply as a negation.

Semantic Range

is it not?, is not...?, not, there is not, absence, non-existence, interrogative particle of negation

Root / Etymology

Root: אין (ALEPH-YOD-NUN). Derived from the root conveying absence or non-existence. אִין (ʼîyn) is likely a contracted or apocopated form of אַיִן (ʾayin), functioning similarly but with distinct orthographic usage in certain dialectal or literary settings.

Historical & Contextual Notes

אִין occurs rarely and is primarily attested in late biblical texts, including Aramaized Hebrew, and is more frequently encountered in Biblical Aramaic and later Jewish Aramaic literature. In Hebrew, it often appears in rhetorical or emphatic questions (e.g., 'is it not?'), especially in poetry or dialogic narrative. Its morphology reflects dialectical or temporal variation, possibly influenced by Aramaic usage. This contrasts with the standard Hebrew אַיִן (ʾayin, 'there is not; there are not'), which is the usual form for expressing inexistence or absence in core biblical prose. English translations frequently render אִין interchangeably with 'not' or 'is it not?', but such renderings can obscure its interrogative nuance or emphatic tone. In the Dead Sea Scrolls and later Hebrew, אִין is more distinctively Aramaic, showing the fluid boundaries between late Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

apparently a shortened form of אַיִן; but (like אַיִן) an interrogative; is it not?; not.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

אין (ʾ-y-n) — absence, non-existence, lacking

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1156 בְּעָא and there is not
H369 אַיִן there is not
H370 אַיִן from where?
H575 אָן where?
H576 אֲנָא where?

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H371-01 וְ/אִ֛ין vein HC/Tn and there is not and is it not? 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H371-01 1 Samuel 21:9 וְ/אִ֛ין vein HC/Tn and there is not and is it not?
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