וְ and other little words

וְ, "and", joined to the word

Hebrew sentences are held together by small words, and the commonest of them is וְ (ve). Its basic meaning is "and", but depending on context it is also "but", "so", "then" or just a gentle "now" that starts a new sentence. Like the one-letter prepositions, it is fused to the front of the next word. The panel labels it "conjunction".

Genesis 1:2 begins with וְהָאָרֶץ (veha'aretz), which is וְ plus הָאָרֶץ. The BSB renders it "Now the earth", while the Korean 개역한글 leaves the conjunction out entirely. That is common: וְ is often weaker than "and". A few words later comes וְחֹשֶׁךְ (vechoshekh), "and darkness", where "and" is plain.

The spelling of וְ changes with the next letter. Before the lip letters בּ, מ, פ, or before a letter with a shewa, it is usually וּ (u). Deuteronomy 6:5 has וּבְכָל־ (uvekhol-), which is וּ + בְּ + כָל, "and with all". Genesis 12:1 has וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ (umimoladtekha), "and from your kindred", built the same way: וּ + מִ + a noun with an ending. Sometimes it is וָ (va), as in וָבֹהוּ (vavohu), "and emptiness", the second half of the famous pair tohu va-vohu. The וַ you see on narrative verbs, as in וַיֹּאמֶר, "and he said", is a different matter that waits for the lesson on the wayyiqtol.

And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Deuteronomy 6:5

The repeated "and with all" is the two וּבְכָל־ words. A conjunction and a preposition are both packed into one written word, so peel them off one layer at a time as in the last lesson.

כִּי and אֲשֶׁר, linking clauses

כִּי (ki) means "that", "for" or "because", depending on the sentence. It is very common, more than 4,300 times. In Genesis 1:4, כִּי־ introduces what God saw: "that the light was good". The panel tags it "Particle · Conditional", which is the database's own label. In this verse "that" is the right way to read it.

אֲשֶׁר ('asher) is the Hebrew relative word, "who, which, that". It never changes for gender or number, and it appears nearly 5,000 times. In Genesis 1:31 it appears in "all that he had made", where אֲשֶׁר means "that". In Exodus 20:2, אֲשֶׁר opens the clause "who brought you out", describing "the LORD your God".

"Not", "if", "also", "there"

לֹא (lo) is the ordinary "not", more than 5,100 times. In Psalm 23:1 לֹא turns "I lack" into "I shall not want". אַל ('al) is a second negative word, used for "don't" in a warning or request. In Genesis 15:1, אַל־ תִּירָא is "Do not be afraid". The Ten Commandments ("You shall not…", as in Exodus 20:3 with לֹא) use לֹא. You do not need to sort out exactly when each is used yet. Just recognise both as "not".

אִם ('im) is "if". In Genesis 4:7, God asks Cain, "If you do well…" with אִם־, and then introduces the alternative with וְאִם (ve'im), "and if". The panel tags both as "conditional", and with "if" the label fits naturally.

גַּם (gam) means "also" or "even". In Psalm 23:4 גַּם together with the כִּי־ that follows makes "גַּם כִּי־אֵלֵךְ", which the BSB gives as "Even though I walk". שָׁם (sham) means "there", as in Genesis 2:8, where God puts the man "there" in the garden: שָׁם. The panel calls both words "adverb". גַּם occurs nearly 770 times and שָׁם over 830.

What "particle" means

In the lesson on the article the panel called both הַ and אֵת a "particle". A particle is the panel's name for a small word that hardly changes its form, unlike nouns and verbs. כִּי, אֲשֶׁר, לֹא, אַל and אִם are all in this group. The conjunction וְ has its own label, "conjunction". When several labels stack up on a single word, it only means that several small words have been written together.

Summary

וְ ("and", also וּ and וָ) is fused to the next word. כִּי ("that, for") and אֲשֶׁר ("who, which") link clauses. לֹא and אַל say "not", אִם is "if", גַּם is "also" and שָׁם is "there". These small words are the framework of a verse, and once you know them the rest of the verse is easier to see.

Words in this lesson

• לֹאlonot5,168 times in the OT
• אַלalnot724 times in the OT
• אֲשֶׁרasherwhich4,950 times in the OT
• כִּיkifor4,335 times in the OT
• גַּםgamalso769 times in the OT
• אִםimif711 times in the OT
• שָׁםshamthere833 times in the OT

Practice