Lexical Definition

‎מִי‎ mîy (me) who? ^H:Intg
an interrogative pronoun of persons, as ‎מָה‎ is of things,

any (man), [idiom] he, [idiom] him, [phrase] O that! what, which, who(-m, -se, -soever), [phrase] would to God.

• who? (occasionally, by a peculiar idiom, of things)
• also (indefinitely) whoever
• often used in oblique construction with prefix or suffix

1) who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever

See Greek: θάλασσα · κῦμα · ὀφείλω · ὀφείλω · τίς

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎מִי‎₄₂₃ pronoun interrogative who? of persons, as ‎מָה‎ (q. v.) of things (Ethiopic but only = What ? and How ? Assyrian mî, me (rare) Jäger^{BAS. ii. 277}, the usual Semitic form for Who? has n, namely Assyrian mannu, manu (Dl^{HWB 419}), Ethiopic man¥, Aramaic Arabic , Vulgar Arabic min, m£n, from a form resembling which, by rejection of n, probably Hebrew ‎מִי‎: W^{SG 123 f.}): — who ? (τίς; quis ?) Gen 3:11 ‎הִגִּיד לְךָ מִי‎ who told thee ? Gen 24:65 ‎מִי הָאִישׁ הַלָּזֶה‎ who is this man ? Gen 27:18 ‎מי אתה בני‎ who art thou, my son ? Num 22:9; Judg 1:1; Judg 6:29; Judg 15:6; Judg 18:3; Judg 20:18; 2Sam 1:8 + often; Ruth 3:9 ‎מִי אָ֑תְּ‎ who art thou, (feminine) ? Isa 51:12 of more than one, ‎מִי אֵלָּה‎ who are these ? Gen 33:5; Gen 48:8; Isa 60:8 ‎מי אתם‎ 2Kgs 10:13 once, more explicitly, ‎מִי זָמִי הַהֹלְכִים‎ Exod 10:8 = as who ? (i.e. in what condition, or capacity), Amos 7:2 ‎יעקב מי יקום‎ vAmos 7:5; Isa 51:19 ‎מִי אֲנַחֲמֵךְ‎ (but Vrss Che Lag Brd Du ‎׳‎‎מִי יְ‎, as || ‎מִי יָנוּד‎), Ruth 3:16 (Be Ke Kö^{iii. 388}). Note in particular:
a. ‎מִי‎ is rarely used of things, and usually where persons are understood or implied: Gen 33:8 ‎מי לך כלהֿמחנה הזה‎ who (or what) to thee is all this camp ? Deut 4:7; Judg 9:28 ‎שְׁכֶם מִי‎ who is Shechem (i.e. the Shechemites) ? Mic 1:5 ‎מִיפֶֿשַׁע יַעֲקֹב הֲלֹא שֹׁמְרוֺן‎, v^b Song 3:6; Judg 13:17 ‎מִי שְׁמֶ֑ךָ‎ ( but ‎מה‎ Gen 32:28*; Exod 3:13: with ‎מי‎ compare ‎מַן‎ in Aramaic Ezra 5:4 Genesis, Exodus ll. cc. ᵑ7; and see Nö^{M. p. 341}). On 1Sam 18:18, see II. ‎חַי‎
b. in the genitive, ‎בַּתמִֿי אַתְּ‎ whose daughter art thou ? Gen 24:23; Gen 24:47; 1Sam 12:3 (3 t. in verse); 1Sam 17:55; Jer 44:28; Job 26:4; Job 33:28 after various prepositions, as ‎אַחֲרֵי מִי‎ 1Sam 24:15* (twice in verse); ‎אֶלמִֿי‎ 1Sam 6:20; 2Kgs 9:5 +; ‎בְּמִי‎ by whom ? 1Kgs 20:14, ‎לְמִי‎₂₀ to whom ? whose ? Gen 32:18* ‎לְמִי אַתָּה‎, Gen 38:25; Prov 20:20 (6 t.) +; ‎מִמִּי‎ Ezek 32:19; Ps 27:1 (twice in verse); ‎עַלמִֿי‎ 2Kgs 18:20; 2Kgs 19:22; Isa 57:4 +; ‎אֶתמִֿי‎ (so always in accusative), 1Sam 12:3 (twice in verse); 1Sam 28:11; Isa 6:8 = with whom ? Job 12:3.
c. in an indirect question, as Gen 21:26; Gen 43:22 ‎לא ידענו מי שׂם‎ we do not know who put, etc., Deut 21:1; Ps 39:7*; Josh 24:15 ‎בַּחֲרוּ ֗֗֗ אֶתמִֿי תַעֲבֹד֑וּן‎ choose whom ye will serve, after ‎ראה‎ 1Sam 14:17, ‎שׁאל‎ 1Sam 17:56, ‎הגיד‎ 1Kgs 1:20, ‎הודיע‎ v1Kgs 1:27.
d. ‎׳‎‎מי ב‎ who among ... ? 1Sam 22:14; Isa 36:20; Isa 43:9; Isa 48:14 (‎בהם‎) Isa 42:23; Isa 50:10; Hag 2:3 ( all ‎בכם‎); ‎מי מן‎ who of ... ? Judg 21:8; 2Kgs 6:11; Isa 50:1.
e. strengthened and emphatic forms of interrogative:
(a) ‎מי זה‎ (see ‎זה‎ 4 b), ‎מי הוא‎ (see ‎הוא‎ 4 b β), ‎הוא זה מי‎ Ps 24:10; Jer 30:21; Esth 7:5 (see ibid.);
(b) ‎אֶחָד מִי‎ what single one ... ? Judg 21:8, compare 2Sam 7:23 ( = 1Chr 17:21). feminine various rhetorical uses ( often repeated in || clause, as Ps 15:1; Ps 18:32*; Isa 28:9; Isa 29:15): — (a) followed by imperfect it expresses a wish ( the question implying a desire that the person asked for were present ), 2Sam 15:4 ‎מִי יְשִׂמֵנִי שֹׁפֵט‎ who will set me judge ? i.e. would that some one would make me judge ! 2Sam 23:15 ‎מִי יַשְׁקֵנִי מַיִם‎ = O that one would give me to drink, etc. ! compare Num 11:4; Num 11:18; Mal 1:10; Ps 4:7*; Ps 60:11*; Ps 94:16; Isa 42:23, and very often in the phrase ‎מִי יִתֵּן‎ who will give? i.e. would that there were. . . ! as Num 11:29 ‎נביאים‎ ‎׳‎‎ומי יתן כל עם י‎ = and would that all ‎׳‎‎י‎'s people were prophets! Deut 28:67 ‎מי יתן ערב‎ = would it were even! Judg 9:29 + (see ‎נָתַן‎). (b) it expresses contempt (who ? implying the answer no one at all), Exod 5:2 ‎׳‎‎אשׁר אשׁמע בקולו מי י‎ who is ‎׳‎‎י‎ that I should listen to his voice ? Judg 9:28 ‎מִי אֲבִימֶלֶךְ וּמִי שְׁכֶם כִּי נַעַבְדֶנּוּ‎, vJudg 9:38; 1Sam 17:26 who is this Philistine that he should have reproached, etc.? 1Sam 25:10 ‎מי דוד ומי בן ישׁי‎ Isa 28:9; Job 26:4; Prov 30:9 ‎׳‎‎מי י‎; or modesty (real or assumed), Exod 3:11 ‎מִי אָנֹכִי כִּי אֵלֵךְ אֶלפַּֿרְעֹה‎ 1Sam 18:18 ‎ומי חיי מי אנכי‎ who am I, and who is my clan (‎חַיִּי‎), that I should be the king's son-in-law ? 2Sam 7:18; 1Chr 29:14; 2Chr 2:5* or surprise, Isa 44:10; Isa 49:21. (c) in impassioned prose, and especially in poetry, implying the answer few or none, it is equivalent to a rhetorical negative, Deut 9:2 ‎מִי יִתְיַצֵּב לִפְנֵי בְנֵי עֲנָק‎ who can stand, etc.? Deut 30:12 ‎מִי יַעֲלֶהלָּֿנוּ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה‎ vDeut 30:13; 1Sam 4:8 ‎׳‎‎מִי יַצִּילֵנוּ וג‎, 1Sam 6:20; 1Sam 22:14; 1Sam 26:9; 1Sam 26:15; 2Sam 16:10 ‎מי יאמר‎ who shall (or can) say ? Job 9:12; Prov 20:9; Eccl 8:4 with the perfect (of experience), who has ever . . . ? Num 23:10; Deut 5:23; Isa 36:20; Isa 66:8 (twice in verse); Jer 18:13 ‎מִי שָׁמַע כָּאֵלֶּה‎, Jer 23:18 (ᵑ0), Jer 30:21; Job 4:7; Job 9:4 ‎מִי הִקְשָׁה אֵלָיו וַיִּשְׁלָ֑ם‎, Job 41:3*; Prov 30:4; Lam 3:37 in poetry, very often, as Gen 49:9 ‎מִי יְקִימֶנּוּ וּכְלָבִיא‎ who can rouse him up ? (i.e. no one), Exod 15:11 (twice in verse) ‎מִי כָמוֺךָ‎ (so Ps 35:10 and elsewhere), Num 24:9; Num 24:23; 1Sam 2:25 ‎מי יתפלל לו‎ who shall intercede for him ? (i.e. no one), Isa 1:12; Isa 10:3; Isa 40:13; Isa 40:14; Isa 40:18; Isa 41:26; Isa 42:19; Isa 43:9; Isa 48:14; Isa 50:1; Isa 53:1 ‎מִי הֶאֱמִין לִשְׁמֻעָתֵנוּ‎ (i.e. few or none), etc.; Ps 18:32* ‎׳‎‎מִי אֱלוֺהַּ מִבַּלְעֲדֵי י‎, Ps 76:8*; Ps 89:7*; Ps 130:3; Job 21:31; Job 34:29; Jer 17:9; Joel 2:11; Mal 3:2 ‎מִי לֹא ֗֗֗ ‎ Amos 3:8; Jer 10:7; Job 12:9 (compare Job 25:3; Nah 3:19); (‎יְשִׁיבֶנָּה‎) ‎מִי יְשִׁיבֶנּוּ‎ who shall (can) turn it back ? Job 9:12; Job 11:10; Job 23:13; Isa 14:27; Isa 43:13; Jer 2:24 implying the answer, no one but God, Isa 40:12; Isa 41:2; Isa 35:6; Isa 35:25, etc.; defiantly, Isa 50:9 ‎מִי הוּא יַרְשִׁיעֵנִי‎, Jer 21:13; Jer 49:4 ‎מִי יָבוֺא אֵלַי‎, vJer 49:19; Obad 1:3; Ps 12:5* ‎מִי אָדוֺן לָנוּ‎, Ps 59:8*; Ps 64:6*; Job 9:19 ‎מִי יוֺעִידֵנִי וְאִם לְמִשְׁפָּט‎, Job 13:19 ‎מִי הוּא יָרִיב עִמָּדִי‎ who is he that will contend with me ? Job 17:3; Job 41:2*. Notice in examples of this kind the frequent order of words: Prov 20:6 ‎ואישׁ אמוּנים מי ימצא‎, Prov 24:22 ‎יודע ופיד שׁניהם מי‎, Prov 31:10; Nah 1:6 ‎לפני זעמו מי יעמד‎, Ps 147:17 ‎קֹרָתוֺ מי יעמד לפני‎, Job 4:2 ‎וַעְצֹר בְּמִלִּין מִי יוּכ֑ל‎, Job 26:14; Job 38:37; Job 39:5; Job 41:5*; Job 41:6*; Ps 6:6* ‎בִּשְׁאוֺל מִי יוֺדֶהלָּֿ֑ךְ‎, Ps 19:13* and with the nom. pendens, Jer 2:24 ‎תַּאֲנָתָהּ מִי יְשִׁיבֶנָּה‎, Prov 18:14; Job 17:15 ‎וְתִקְוָתִי מִי יְשׁוּרֶנָּה‎, Job 38:29 ‎וּכְפֹר שָׁמַיִם מִי יְלָדוֺ‎.
(d) ‎מִי יוֺדֵעַ‎ who knoweth ? (Ps 90:11; Prov 24:22), followed by a verbal clause, becomes (compare nescio an) = it may be, perchance, 2Sam 12:22 ‎׳‎‎מִי יוֺדֵעַ יְחָנֵּנִי י‎ (Qr ‎וְחַנַּנִי‎), Joel 2:14 ( = Jonah 3:9) ‎מי יודע ישׁוב ונחם‎, Esth 4:14 ‎יודע אם מי‎.
(e) especially in poetry, a question with ‎מי‎, to which the answer follows, is an effective mode of affirming a fact, or introducing a description: Ps 15:1 (twice in verse) (see vPs 15:2); Ps 24:3; Ps 24:8; Ps 24:10; Isa 23:8 ‎מי יעץ‎ ‎׳‎‎זאת וג‎ (Isa 23:9 the answ., ‎יְעָצָהּ‎ ‎׳‎‎צ‎ ‎׳‎‎י‎), Isa 33:14 (see vIsa 33:15f.), Isa 37:23; Isa 41:2; Isa 41:4; Isa 60:8; Isa 63:1; Jer 46:7; Song 3:6, compare Song 6:10; Song 8:3 answered by ‎הֲלֹא‎ Exod 4:11; Isa 42:24; Isa 45:21; Mic 1:5 (twice in verse).
g. ‎מִי‎ may sometimes be rendered whosoever, though, as the examples will shew, it does not really mean it: Exod 24:14 ‎מי בעל דברים יִגַּשׁ אליהם‎, literally Who hath a cause ? let him draw nigh unto them, i.e. whoso hath a cause, let him, etc., Isa 50:8b ‎מִי בַעַל מִשְׁפָּטִי יִגַּשׁ אֵלַי‎, Isa 54:15; Judg 7:3 ‎מִי יָרֵא וְחָרֵד יָשֹׁב‎ ‎׳‎‎וג‎ who is fearful and trembling ? let him return, Prov 9:4; Prov 9:16 ‎מִיפֶֿ֖תִי יָסֻר הֵגָּה‎, Ezra 1:3 (compare with ‎וְ‎ in apodosis Jer 9:11*; Hos 14:10*; Ps 107:43; Zech 4:10 is dubious, on account of anomalous tense and construction); so with ‎מי האישׁ אשׁר ֗֗֗ ‎ Deut 20:5; Deut 20:6; Deut 20:7; Judg 10:18, compare Ps 25:12. With 1 person in apodosis, Exod 32:33 ‎חָטָא לִי אֶמְחֶגּוּ מִסִּפְרִי מִי אֲשֶׁר‎, Jer 49:19 ( = Jer 50:44) ‎אֵלָיהָ אֶפְקֹד וּמִי בָחוּר‎ and who is chosen? I will appoint him over her! Isa 50:8a; with an imperative in the apodosis Exod 32:24 (against accents; see Ra) ‎התפרקו למי זהב‎ who hath gold ? break it off you! Gen 19:12; 1Sam 11:12, compare Ps 34:13*f.; without a verb, Exod 32:26 ‎אלי‎ ‎׳‎‎מי לי‎ who is on J.'s side ? (let him come) to me! so 2Sam 20:11 (‎מי אשׁר‎); Eccl 5:9*; Eccl 9:4 (‎מי אשׁר‎).
h. once, following a verb (compare ‎מָה‎ 3), any one, 2Sam 18:12 ‎שִׁמְרוּמִֿי בַּנַּעַר באבשׁלום‎ Have a care, whosoever ye be, of, etc. (but ᵐ5 ᵑ6 ᵑ9 Bu ‎לִי‎; compare v2Sam 18:5).

Brown-Driver-Briggs References