Lexical Definition

‎אִם‎ ʼim (eem) if ^H:Cond
a primitive particle

(and, can-, doubtless, if, that) (not), [phrase] but, either, [phrase] except, [phrase] more(-over if, than), neither, nevertheless, nor, oh that, or, [phrase] save (only, -ing), seeing, since, sith, [phrase] surely (no more, none, not), though, [phrase] of a truth, [phrase] unless, [phrase] verily, when, whereas, whether, while, [phrase] yet.

• used very widely as demonstrative, lo!
• interrogative, whether?
• or conditional, if, although
• also Oh that!, when
• hence, as a negative, not

1) if
1a) conditional clauses
1a1) of possible situations
1a2) of impossible situations
1b) oath contexts
1b1) no, not
1c) if...if, whether...or, whether...or...or
1d) when, whenever
1e) since
1f) interrogative particle
1g) but rather

Brown-Driver-Briggs

Aramaic form: לָא
‎אִם‎ conjunction (= Aramaic if [and in , ‎אֶלָּא‎ = if not, except], Arabic if [and in = if not, except], Ethiopic (§mma) if = ‎מָה‎ + ‎אִם‎ ( + ) [and in (allâ) if not, but], Assyrian umma; also in Arabic 'An?' = , compare ‎הַאִם‎: see Nö^{M p. 208, ZMG 1886, p. 739}; W^{AG i. § 367 e}) **‎ᵑ7‎^{Onk Jon} ‎אִם‎, ‎ᵑ7‎^Hag ‎אין‎.

1. hypothetical particle if.
a. construction (see more fully Dr^{§ 136-138, 143} Friedrich^{Die Hebr. Condit. sätze 1884}): (1) with imperfect (continued by perfects & waw consecutive; apodosis usually begins with perfect & waw consecutive or bare imperfect; or, if necessary, with imperative or jussive)
(a) of future time: Gen 18:26 ‎אִםאֶֿמְצָא‎ if I shall find 50 righteous in Sodom, ‎וְנָשָׂאתִי‎ I will pardon, etc., Gen 24:8; Gen 32:9*; Deut 1:52 b 1Kgs 6:12; Ps 89:31*; Gen 42:37; Judg 13:16; 1Kgs 1:52 a Ps 132:12.
(b) of past time (rare, but classical): Gen 31:8 ‎אִם יאֹמַר‎ if everhe said . . . ‎וְיָָֽלְדִוּ‎ then they used to bear, etc., Exod 40:37 & in the protestations Job 31:7; Job 31:13; Job 31:16; Job 31:25 etc. (alternating with pff., see below, & with jussives in apodosis)
(c) assuming a purely imaginary case (with imperfect in both clauses, like the double optative in Greek), if, though: Gen 13:16 so that ‎אִםיֿוּכַל‎ if a man were able to number the stars, thy seed also ‎יִמָּנֶה‎ might be numbered, Num 22:18; Isa 1:18 ‎כַּשָּׁנִים יַלְבִּינוּ‎ ‎׳‎‎אִםיִֿהְיוּ ח‎ though your sins were as scarlet, they should become white as snow, Amos 9:2-4 ‎אִםיַֿחְתְּרוּ‎ though they were to dig into Sheôl, from thence ‎תִּקָּחֵם‎ would my hand fetch them, Ps 27:3; Ps 139:8 +. (2) with participle (expressing either a present process, or an approaching future: apodosis as 1 a) Gen 24:42; Gen 24:49; Judg 6:36; Judg 9:15; Judg 11:9 ‎אִם מְשִׁיבִים אַתֶּם‎ if ye are going to bring me back . . . ‎׳‎‎וְנָתַן י‎ then ‎׳‎‎י‎ will, etc.; similarly with ‎יֵשׁ‎ or ‎אֵין‎ Gen 44:26; Exod 22:2*; 1Sam 20:8; 1Sam 23:23 & with no explicit copula Deut 22:2; Deut 25:2; Lev 1:3; Lev 1:14, etc. (3) with perfect
(a) of future or present time (continued by perfects & waw consecutive: apodosis as 1 a) Gen 43:9 ‎אִםלֹֿא הֲבִיאֹתִיו אֵלֶיךָ וְהִצַּגְתִּיו לְפָנֶיךָ‎ if I do not bring him back (si eum non reduxero) and set him before thee, I will be guilty for ever, Gen 47:6 if thou knowest that there are men of worth among them ‎וְשַׂמְתָּם‎ then make them, etc., Judg 16:17; 2Sam 15:33; 2Kgs 7:4; Ps 41:7*; Ps 94:18; Job 7:4; Job 9:30f. Job 10:14 ‎אִם חָטָאתִי וּשְׁמַרְתָּ֑נִי‎ if I sin, thou watchest me. On ‎אִםנָֿא‎ Gen 18:3 and elsewhere see ‎נָא‎.
(b) of past time, whether
(a) in actual fact, or (β) in an assumed case (the perfect is here continued by the imperfect and waw consecutive; apodosis begins as before).
(a) Judg 9:16-19 ‎אִם ֗֗֗ עֲשִׂיתֶם‎ if ye have done honestly ‎וַתַּמְלִיכוּ‎ and have made Abimelech king . . ., 1Sam 26:19 especially in protestations, as Ps 7:4* ‎אִם עָשִׂיתִי זאת‎ if I have done this . . ., let the enemy pursue my soul, etc. Jer 33:25f.; Job 31:5f; Job 31:9, etc.
(b) Num 5:27 if she have defiled herself ‎וַתִּמְעֹל‎ and been faithless, ‎וּבָאוּ‎ then shall they come, etc., Num 15:24; Num 35:22-24.
(c) with bare perfect in apodosis, in sense of If ... had ..., only Deut 32:30 ‎אִםלֹֿא כִּי‎ were it not that ..., Ps 73:15. (‎לוּ‎ is more usual in such cases.) (4) with infinitive once (si vera 1.) Job 9:27 ‎אִם אָמְרִי‎ = if I say (literally if (there is) my saying). — Note that the verb following ‎אִם‎ is often strengthened by the infinitive absolute, as Exod 15:26; Exod 19:5; Exod 21:5; Exod 22:3*; Exod 22:12*; Exod 22:16*; Exod 22:22*; Judg 11:30; Judg 14:12; Judg 16:11 etc.; compare Dr^{Sm i. 20, 6}.

b. Special uses: (1) repeated ... ‎אִם‎ ‎אִם‎ whether ... or (sive ... sive) Exod 19:13; Deut 18:3; 2Sam 15:21 similarly ‎אִם ֗֗֗ וְאִם‎ Gen 31:52; Jer 42:6; Ezek 2:5; Eccl 11:3; Eccl 12:14 (compare ... , ... PS²⁵⁰; ... & ... ).(2) After an oath (expressed, or merely implied) ‎אִם‎ (the formula of imprecation being omitted) becomes an emphatic negative, and ‎אִםלֹֿא‎ an emphatic affirmative: 2Sam 11:11 by thy life ‎אִםאֶֿעֱשֶׂה אֶתהַֿדָּבָר הַזֶּה‎ (may God bring all manner of evil upon me) if I do this thing! = surely I will not do this thing! (compare the full phrases in 1Sam 3:17; 2Kgs 6:31) Gen 14:23; Gen 42:15; Num 14:23; 1Sam 3:14; 1Sam 19:6; 2Kgs 2:2; 2Kgs 3:14 & often; Isa 22:14; Ps 89:36*; Ps 95:11; Job 6:28 ‎אִםלֹֿא‎ Num 14:28; Josh 14:9; 1Kgs 20:23; 2Kgs 9:26; Isa 5:9; Isa 14:24; Jer 15:11; Jer 49:20; Job 1:11 + especially Ezekiel; after a negative clause, emphasizing a contrasted idea, Gen 24:38 (where the explanation by Aramaic ‎אֶלָּא‎ is not supported by Hebrew usage), compare Jer 22:6. Repeated, ‎אִם ֗֗֗ וְאִם‎ 2Sam 20:20; 2Kgs 3:14; Isa 62:8; Jer 38:16; Ezek 14:16. In adjurations (with 2nd or 3rd person) = that not Gen 21:23; Gen 26:29; Gen 31:50; 1Sam 24:22*; 1Kgs 1:51; Song 2:7; Song 3:5 +. Of past or present time: 1Sam 25:34 as ‎׳‎‎י‎ liveth (I say) that, unless thou hadst hastened ..., ‎כִּי אִם‎ ‎נוֺתַר‎ that surely there had not been left ...! 1Sam 17:55 as thy soul liveth ‎אִםיָֿדַעְתִּי‎ if I Know it! 1Kgs 17:12; 1Kgs 18:10 — both ‎אִםיֵֿשׁ‎ (‎כִּי‎ here merely introduces the fact sworn to, & need not be translated; so 2Sam 3:35: see ‎כִּי‎); Ps 121:2 ‎אִםלֹֿא‎ (after a negative clause: compare above Gen 24:38). compare Str^{§ 90}.(3) Part, of wishing, if but ...! oh that ...! (rare) Ps 81:9* If thou wouldest hearken to me! Ps 95:7; Ps 139:19; Prov 24:11. compare Exod 32:32. With an imperative (si vera lectio) Job 34:16 ‎וְאִםִֿ˜בּינָה‎; and with an anacoluthon, Gen 23:13 (P) ‎אִםאַֿתָּה לוּ שְׁמָעֵנִי‎ if thou! — oh that thou wouldst hear me!(4) Nearly = when — with the perfect:
(a) of past, Gen 38:9; Num 21:9 ‎וְהָיָה אִםנָֿשַׁךְ ֗֗֗ וְרָאָה‎ and it used to be, if or when a serpent had bitten a man, that he would look, etc., Judg 6:3; Ps 78:34 (see Dr^{§ 136} δ Obs.); Amos 7:2.
(b) of present or future, Isa 4:4 ‎אִם רָחַץ‎ when the Lord shall have washed, Isa 24:13; Isa 28:25 compare Num 36:4 (with the imperfect)
c. Compounded with other particles: —
(a) ‎בִּלְתִּי אִם‎ except if, except, Gen 47:18; Judg 7:14; Amos 3:3; Amos 3:4. (β) ‎הֲלוֺא אִם‎ 2Kgs 20:19 (for which Isa 39:7 has sim-ply ‎כִּי‎), perhaps Is it not (good), if ...? (De Di). (γ) ‎כִּיאִֿם‎, q. v. (δ) ‎עַד אִם‎ Gen 24:19; Gen 24:33; Isa 30:17; Ruth 2:21, & ‎עַד אֲשֶׁר אִם‎ Gen 28:15; Num 32:17; Isa 6:11, until, properly until if or when. (ε) ‎רַק אִם‎ if only (see below ‎רַק‎). ‎אִםלֹֿא‎ in Ezek 3:6b is very difficult. The Vrss render If I had sent, etc., implying ‎לֻא‎ for ‎אִםלֹֿא‎ (for Ew's ‎אִםלֻֿא‎ = ‎אִלּוּ‎, q. v., is precarious): Ges Hi Co 'but (‎אִםלֹֿא‎ after a negative, compare above Gen 24:38; Ps 131:2) unto them (Israel) have I sent thee: they can understand thee' (but understand is a dubious rendering of ‎שָׁמַע אֶל‎).

2. Interrogative particle a. in direct question:
(a) alone (not frequently and usually = Num? expecting the answer No, especially in a rhet. style): Gen 38:17; 1Kgs 1:27; Judg 5:8 ‎מָגֵן אִםיֵֿרָאֶה וָרֹמַח‎ was there a shield to be seen or a spear ...?Isa 29:16 and repeated Amos 3:6; Jer 48:27; Job 6:12.
(b) more frequently in disjunctive interrogation:
(a) ‎הֲ ֗֗֗ אִם‎, expressing a real alternative Josh 5:13 ‎הֲלָנוּ אַתָּה‎ ‎אִםלְֿצָרֵינוּ‎ art thou for us, or for our enemies? Judg 9:2; 1Kgs 22:6; 1Kgs 22:15: more often expressing a merely formal alternative, especially in poetry (a rhetorical Num?) Gen 37:8; Num 11:12; Num 11:22; Judg 11:25b 2Sam 19:36*; Isa 10:15; Isa 66:8; Jer 3:5; Hab 3:8; Ps 77:10*; Ps 78:20; Job 4:17; Job 6:5; Job 6:6; Job 10:4; Job 10:5; Job 11:7 etc. (β) ‎הֲ ֗֗֗ וְאִם‎ (rarer than ‎הֲ ֗֗֗ אִם‎, but similar in use) 2Sam 24:13 (a real alt.); Isa 49:24; Isa 50:2; Jer 5:9 (Jer 5:29 ‎אִם‎) Jer 14:22; Joel 1:2; Joel 4:4*; Job 8:3; Job 11:2; Job 21:4; Job 22:3; Job 34:17; Job 40:8f. (formal); Gen 17:17 P (with an anacoluthon) shall a child ...? ‎וְאִםשָֿׂרָה הֲבַתתִּֿשְׁעִים שָׁנָה תֵּלֵד‎ or Sarah, — shall she that is 90 years old bear? Prov 27:24 (‎וְאִם‎ after negative clause),
b. in oblique interrogation, if, whether:
(a) alone, after verbs of seeing, inquiring, etc. 2Kgs 1:2; Jer 5:1; Jer 30:6; Mal 3:10; Ps 139:24; Song 7:13*; Lam 1:12; Ezra 2:59 once ‎מִי יוֺדֵעַ‎ ‎אִם‎ who knoweth if ...? i.e. (like haud scio an) perhaps Esth 4:14 (older synonym ‎מִי יוֺדֵעַ‎ alone: see 2Sam 12:22; Joel 2:14; Jonah 3:9).
(b) disjunctively ‎הֲ ֗֗֗ אִם‎ Gen 27:21; Num 13:18-20 so ‎אִם ֗֗֗ וְאִם‎ Josh 24:15.
c. compounded with ‎הֲ‎, ‎הַאִם‎ Num 17:28* ‎הַאִם תַּמְנוּ לִגְוֺעַ‎ probably an emphatic Num? Shall we ever have finished dying? Job 6:13 difficult: perhaps Is it that my help is not in me? (a forcible means of expressing that that which might be thought impossible is nevertheless the case); Hi as an aposiop., If my help is not in me (am I still to wait) ? (The view that ‎הַאִם‎ = ‎הֲלֹא‎ nonne? is inconsistent with the fact that ‎אִם‎ in a question has regularly the force of Num?)

‎אֵם‎ see ‎אמם‎. Below‎אַמָּה‎, ‎אֻמָּה‎ see ‎אמם‎.

Brown-Driver-Briggs References