לוּ
lu (H3863)
if
AI Word Study
The Hebrew word "lu" (H3863) is a conditional particle used to express "if." It functions as a connector, introducing a clause that presents a hypothetical or uncertain situation. In its 22 occurrences in the Bible, "lu" is often used to explore the consequences of a particular action or decision. The range of usage for "lu" is quite broad, appearing in various contexts, including wisdom literature, prophetic oracles, and even in the book of Psalms. It is frequently paired with other particles, such as "ki" (H3588), which serves as a consequence marker, indicating the outcome of the hypothetical situation presented by "lu." This combination allows the speaker to explore different scenarios and their potential outcomes. The significance of "lu" lies in its ability to facilitate nuanced and thoughtful consideration of complex situations. By introducing hypothetical scenarios, the speaker can engage in a form of "what if" thinking, exploring the potential consequences of different actions or decisions. This allows for a more thoughtful and informed approach to decision-making, which is a valuable aspect of the biblical wisdom tradition.
AI synthesis uses only provided lexicon data -- never training knowledge.
Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!”
He spoke to Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, “But if you will, please hear me. I will give the price of the field. Take it from me, and I will bury my dead there.”
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.”
All the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “We wish that we had died in the land of Egypt, or that we had died in this wilderness!
The people quarreled with Moses, and spoke, saying, “We wish that we had died when our brothers died before Yahweh!
Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have mocked me, I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would have killed you.”
Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
Joshua said, “Alas, Lord Yahweh, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to cause us to perish? I wish that we had been content and lived beyond the Jordan!
He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.”
But his wife said to him, “If Yahweh were pleased to kill us, he wouldn’t have received a burnt offering and a meal offering at our hand, and he wouldn’t have shown us all these things, nor would he have told us such things as these at this time.”
How much more, if perhaps the people had eaten freely today of the plunder of their enemies which they found? For now there has been no great slaughter among the Philistines.”
The man said to Joab, “Though I should receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I still wouldn’t stretch out my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Beware that no one touch the young man Absalom.’
in that you love those who hate you, and hate those who love you. For you have declared today that princes and servants are nothing to you. For today I perceive that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died today, then it would have pleased you well.
“Oh that my anguish were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!
I also could speak as you do. If your soul were in my soul’s place, I could join words together against you, and shake my head at you,
Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
Oh that you had listened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
Oh that you would tear the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence.
“If I cause evil animals to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it is made desolate, so that no man may pass through because of the animals;
If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood lies: “I will prophesy to you of wine and of strong drink;” he would be the prophet of this people.