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Bible Lexicons
Old Testament Hebrew Lexical Dictionary Hebrew Lexicon
Strong's #4310 - מִי
- Brown-Driver-Briggs
- Strong
- who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever
- Book
- Word
did not use
this Strong's Number
1286) im (מי MY) AC: ? CO: ? AB: Who: Related to emand fm.
A) im (מי MY) AC: ? CO: ? AB: Who
Nm ) im (מי MY) - Who: Someone that is unknown. KJV (12): who, any, whose, what, if, whom - Strongs: H4310 (מִי)
Jeff Benner, Ancient Hebrew Research Center Used by permission of the author.
a.מִי is rarely used of things, and usually where persons are understood or implied: Genesis 33:8 מי לך כלהֿמחנה הזה who (or what) to thee is all this camp ? Deuteronomy 4:7; Judges 9:28 שְׁכֶם מִי who is Shechem (i.e. the Shechemites) ? Micah 1:5 מִיפֶֿשַׁע יַעֲקֹב הֲלֹא שֹׁמְרוֺן, v b Song of Solomon 3:6; Judges 13:17 מִי שְׁמֶ֑ךָ ( but מה Genesis 32:28; Exodus 3:13: with מי compare מַן in Aramaic Ezra 5:4; Genesis , Exodus ll. cc. ᵑ7; and see Nö M. p. 341). On 1 Samuel 18:18, see II. חַי
b. in the Genitive, בַּתמִֿי אַתְּ whose daughter art thou ? Genesis 24:23,47; 1 Samuel 12:3 (3t. in verse); 1 Samuel 17:55; Jeremiah 44:28; Job 26:4; Job 33:28; after various prepositions, as אַחֲרֵי מִי 1 Samuel 24:15 (twice in verse); אֶלמִֿי 1 Samuel 6:20; 2 Kings 9:5 +; בְּמִי by whom ? 1 Kings 20:14, לְמִי20 to whom ? whose ? Genesis 32:18 לְמִי אַתָּה, Genesis 38:25; Proverbs 20:20 (6t.) +; מִמִּי Ezekiel 32:19; Psalm 27:1 (twice in verse); עַלמִֿי 2 Kings 18:20; 2 Kings 19:22; Isaiah 57:4 +; אֶתמִֿי (so always in accusative), 1 Samuel 12:3 (twice in verse); 1 Samuel 28:11; Isaiah 6:8; = with whom ? Job 12:3.
c. in an indirect question, as Genesis 21:26; Genesis 43:22 לא ידענו מי שׂם we do not know who put, etc., Deuteronomy 21:1; Psalm 39:7; Joshua 24:15 בַּחֲרוּ ֗֗֗ אֶתמִֿי תַעֲבֹד֑וּן choose whom ye will serve, after ראה 1 Samuel 14:17, שׁאל 1 Samuel 17:56, הגיד 1 Kings 1:20, הודיע 1 Kings 1:27.
d.׳מי ב who among ... ? 1 Samuel 22:14; Isaiah 36:20; Isaiah 43:9; Isaiah 48:14 (בהם) Isaiah 42:23; Isaiah 50:10; Haggai 2:3 ( all בכם); מי מן who of ... ? Judges 21:8; 2 Kings 6:11; Isaiah 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 Psalm 24:10; Jeremiah 30:21; Esther 7:5 (see ibid.); ( b) אֶחָד מִי what single one ... ? Judges 21:8, compare 2 Samuel 7:23 ( = 1 Chronicles 17:21).
f. various rhetorical uses ( often repeated in "" clause, as Psalm 15:1; Psalm 18:32; Isaiah 28:9; Isaiah 29:15): — (a) followed by imperfect it expresses a wish ( the question implying a desire that the person asked for were present ), 2 Samuel 15:4 מִי יְשִׂמֵנִי שֹׁפֵט who will set me judge ? i.e. would that some one would make me judge ! 2 Samuel 23:15 מִי יַשְׁקֵנִי מַיִם = O that one would give me to drink, etc. ! compare Numbers 11:4,18; Malachi 1:10; Psalm 4:7; Psalm 60:11; Psalm 94:16; Isaiah 42:23, and very often in the phrase מִי יִתֵּן who will give? i.e. would that there were. . . ! as Numbers 11:29 נביאים׳ומי יתן כל עם י = and would that all ׳י s people were prophets! Deuteronomy 28:67 מי יתן ערב = would it were even! Judges 9:29 + (see נָתַן). (b) it expresses contempt (who ? implying the answer no one at all), Exodus 5:2 ׳אשׁר אשׁמע בקולו מי י who is ׳י that I should listen to his voice ? Judges 9:28 מִי אֲבִימֶלֶךְ וּמִי שְׁכֶם כִּי נַעַבְדֶנּוּ, Judges 9:38; 1 Samuel 17:26 who is this Philistine that he should have reproached, etc.? 1 Samuel 25:10 מי דוד ומי בן ישׁי Isaiah 28:9; Job 26:4; Proverbs 30:9 ׳מי י; or modesty (real or assumed), Exodus 3:11 מִי אָנֹכִי כִּי אֵלֵךְ אֶלמַּֿרְעֹה 1 Samuel 18:18 ומי חיי מי אנכי who am I, and who is my clan (חַיִּי), that I should be the king's Song of Solomon -in-law ? 2 Samuel 7:18; 1 Chronicles 29:14; 2 Chronicles 2:5; or surprise, Isaiah 44:10; Isaiah 49:21. (c) in impassioned prose, and especially in poetry, implying the answer few or none, it is equivalent to a rhetorical negative, Deuteronomy 9:2 מִי יִתְיַצֵּב לִפְנֵי בְנֵי עֲנָק who can stand, etc.? Deuteronomy 30:12 מִי יַעֲלֶהלָּֿנוּ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה Deuteronomy 30:13; 1 Samuel 4:8 ׳מִי יַצִּילֵנוּ וג, 1 Samuel 6:20; 1 Samuel 22:14; 1 Samuel 26:9,15; 2 Samuel 16:10; מי יאמר who shall (or can) say ? Job 9:12; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 8:4; with the perfect (of experience), who has ever . . . ? Numbers 23:10; Deuteronomy 5:23; Isaiah 36:20; Isaiah 66:8 (twice in verse); Jeremiah 18:13 מִי שָׁמַע כָּאֵלֶּה, Jeremiah 23:18 (ᵑ0), Jeremiah 30:21; Job 4:7; Job 9:4 מִי הִקְשָׁה אֵלָיו וַיִּשְׁלָ֑ם, Job 41:3; Proverbs 30:4; Lamentations 3:37; in poetry, very often, as Genesis 49:9 מִי יְקִימֶנּוּ וּכְלָבִיא who can rouse him up ? (i.e. no one), Exodus 15:11 (twice in verse) מִי כָמוֺךָ (so Psalm 35:10 and elsewhere), Numbers 24:9,23; 1 Samuel 2:25 מי יתפלל לו who shall intercede for him ? (i.e. no one), Isaiah 1:12; Isaiah 10:3; Isaiah 40:13,14,18; Isaiah 41:26; Isaiah 42:19; Isaiah 43:9; Isaiah 48:14; Isaiah 50:1; Isaiah 53:1 מִי הֶאֱמִין לִשְׁמֻעָתֵנוּ (i.e. few or none), etc.; Psalm 18:32 ׳מִי אֱלוֺהַּ מִבַּלְעֲדֵי י, Psalm 76:8; Psalm 89:7; Psalm 130:3; Job 21:31; Job 34:29; Jeremiah 17:9; Joel 2:11; Malachi 3:2; מִי לֹא ֗֗֗ Amos 3:8; Jeremiah 10:7; Job 12:9 (compare Job 25:3; Nahum 3:19); (יְשִׁיבֶנָּה) מִי יְשִׁיבֶנּוּ who shall (can) turn it back ? Job 9:12; Job 11:10; Job 23:13; Isaiah 14:27; Isaiah 43:13; Jeremiah 2:24; implying the answer, no one but God, Isaiah 40:12; Isaiah 41:2; Job 38:5; Job 35:6; Job 35:25, etc.; defiantly, Isaiah 50:9 מִי הוּא יַרְשִׁיעֵנִי, Jeremiah 21:13; Jeremiah 49:4 מִי יָבוֺא אֵלַי, Jeremiah 49:19; Obadiah 3; Psalm 12:5 מִי אָדוֺן לָנוּ, Psalm 59:8; Psalm 64:6; Job 9:19 מִי יוֺעִידֵנִי וְאִם לְמִשְׁמָּט, 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: Proverbs 20:6 ואישׁ אמוּנים מי ימצא, Proverbs 24:22 יודע ופיד שׁניהם מי, Proverbs 31:10; Nahum 1:6 לפני זעמו מי יעמד, Psalm 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; Psalm 6:6 בִּשְׁאוֺל מִי יוֺדֶהלָּֿ֑ךְ, Psalm 19:13; and with the nom. pendens, Jeremiah 2:24 תַּאֲנָתָהּ מִי יְשִׁיבֶנָּה, Proverbs 18:14; Job 17:15 וְתִקְוָתִי מִי יְשׁוּרֶנָּה, Job 38:29 וּכְפֹר שָׁמַיִם מִי יְלָדוֺ. ( d) מִי יוֺדֵעַ who knoweth ? ( Psalm 90:11; Proverbs 24:22), followed by a verbal clause, becomes (compare nescio an) = it may be, perchance, 2 Samuel 12:22 ׳מִי יוֺדֵעַ יְחָנֵּנִי י (Qr וְחַנַּנִי), Joel 2:14 ( = Jonah 3:9) מי יודע ישׁוב ונחם, Esther 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: Psalm 15:1 (twice in verse) (see Psalm 15:2); Psalm 24:3; Psalm 24:8; Psalm 24:10; Isaiah 23:8 מי יעץ׳זאת וג ( Isaiah 23:9 the answ., יְעָצָהּ׳צ ׳י), Isaiah 33:14 (see Isaiah 33:15f.), Isaiah 37:23; Isaiah 41:2,4; Isaiah 60:8; Isaiah 63:1; Jeremiah 46:7; Song of Solomon 3:6, compare Song of Solomon 6:10; Song of Solomon 8:3; answered by הֲלֹא Exodus 4:11; Isaiah 42:24; Isaiah 45:21; Micah 1:5 (twice in verse).
g.מִי may sometimes be rendered whosoever, though, as the examples will shew, it does not really mean it: Exodus 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., Isaiah 50:8b מִי בַעַל מִשְׁמָּטִי יִגַּשׁ אֵלַי, Isaiah 54:15; Judges 7:3 מִי יָרֵא וְחָרֵד יָשֹׁב׳וג who is fearful and trembling ? let him return, Proverbs 9:4,16 מִיפֶֿ֖תִי יָסֻר הֵגָּה, Ezra 1:3 (compare with וְ in apodosis Jeremiah 9:11; Hosea 14:10; Psalm 107:43; Zechariah 4:10 is dubious, on account of anomalous tense and construction); so with מי האישׁ אשׁר ֗֗֗ Deuteronomy 20:5,6,7; Judges 10:18, compare Psalm 25:12. With 1person in apodosis, Exodus 32:33 חָטָא לִי אֶמְחֶגּוּ מִסִּפְרִי מִי אֲשֶׁר, Jeremiah 49:19 ( = Jeremiah 50:44) אֵלָיהָ אֶפְקֹד וּמִי בָחוּר and who is chosen? I will appoint him over her! Isaiah 50:8a; with an imperative in the apodosis Exodus 32:24 (against accents; see Ra) התפרקו למי זהב who hath gold ? break it off you! Genesis 19:12; 1 Samuel 11:12, compare Psalm 34:13f.; without a verb, Exodus 32:26 אלי׳מי לי who is on J.'s side ? (let him come) to me! Song of Solomon 2Samuel 20:11 (מי אשׁר); Ecclesiastes 5:9; Ecclesiastes 9:4 (מי אשׁר).
h. once, following a verb (compare מָה
3), any one, 2 Samuel 18:12 שִׁמְרוּמִֿי בַּנַּעַר באבשׁלום Have a care, whosoever ye be, of, etc. (but ᵐ5ᵑ6 ᵑ9 Bu לִי; compare 2 Samuel 18:5).
מִי pers. pron.
(1) interrog, τίς; who? of persons, like מָה of things. (As to its correlatives הִי, הִיא, דִּי, כִּי see p. 391, A. In the cognate languages the Ethiopic only has ሚ፡ mi, but for what? when the question relates to things. Aramean and Arabic ܡܰܢ, مَنْ and أَىُّ.) Genesis 24:65, מִי הָאִישׁ הַלָּזֶה “who (is) that man?” Ruth 3:9, מִי אַתְּ “who (art) thou?” also when the question relates to many (Arab. مَنُونْ). Genesis 33:5, מִי אֵלֶּה “who (are) these?” Isaiah 60:8 in which sense there is said more explicitly, מִי וָמִי. Exodus 10:6, מִי וָמִי הַהֹלְכִים “who (are) those who go?” (compare Ethiop. መኑ፡ ወመኑ አንትሙ፡ who are you? Lud. Lex., page 80). It is rarely applied to things, but so that there be in them the notion of a person or persons. Genesis 33:8, מִי לְךָ כָּל־הַמַּחֲנֶה הַזֶּה “who (what) are all those companies with thee?” Judges 9:28, מִי שְׁכֶם כִּי נַעַבְדֶּנּוּ “who (are) the Shechemites that we should serve them?” 13:17, מִי שְׁמֶךָ; 1 Samuel 18:18, מִי אָנֹכִי וּמִי חַיַּי. Micah 1:5, מִי־פֶשַׁע יַעֲקֹב מִי בָּמוֹת יְהוּדָה … i.e. “who (is) the author of the transgression of Jacob … who (are) the authors of the high places of Judah?” Song of Solomon 3:6.
It is put in the genitive, as בַּת מִי whose daughter? Genesis 24:23, 47 Genesis 24:47; 1 Samuel 12:3, 17:55 Jeremiah 44:28 and with prefixes denoting the other cases, לְמִי to whom? Genesis 32:18, 38:25 to whom? (plur.) Exodus 32:24 on account of whom? Jonah 1:8 אֶת־מִי whom? 1 Samuel 12:3, 28:11 מִמִּי Ezekiel 32:19 בְּמִי 1 Kings 20:14 עַל־מִי, etc. For the Latin quis eorum? is used מִי בָהֶם Isaiah 48:14 followed by מִן Judges 21:8, מִי אֶחָד מִשִּׂבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל “what one of the tribes of Israel?” Specially observe
(a) it is also used in an oblique question after a verb of knowing, Genesis 43:22; Psalms 39:7 of seeing, 1 Samuel 14:17 of pointing out, 1 Kings 1:20.
(b) An interrogation is intensified by the phrases מִי זֶה, מִי הוּא, מִי הוּא זֶה, see הוּא, זֶה.
(c) A question is often so asked that a negative reply is expected, and the interrogative sentence almost assumes a negative power; Numbers 23:10, מִי מָנָה עֲפַר הָאָרֶץ “who has counted the dust of the earth?” i.e. no one has counted; Isaiah 53:1, מִי הֶאֱמִין “who hath believed?” i.e. no one has believed, few have believed; Isaiah 51:19. Also followed by a fut. Job 9:12, מִי יאֹמַר “who shall say,” or “who may say,” wer möchte, dürfte fagen? (compare τίς ἄν, followed by an opt.), for no one will say. Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 8:4.; 2 Samuel 16:10. Followed by a part. in the phrase מִי יוֹדֵעַ who knoweth? for no one knoweth, Psalms 90:11; Ecclesiastes 2:19 (on the contrary מִי לֹא יָדַע Job 12:9); used for the Lat. nescio an, fortasse (compare יָדַע No. 5, letter a), also unexpectedly (see ibid. No. 6). Also followed by a noun it is used extenuatively, and contemptuously, Judges 9:28, מִי אֲבִימֶלֶךְ “who (is) Abimelech that we should serve him?” Exodus 3:11, מִי אָנֹכִי כִּי אֵלֵךְ אֶל־פַּרְעֹה “who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh?” for, I am not such a one as can go to Pharaoh.
(d) Followed by a fut. it is also often expressive of a wish; 2 Samuel 15:4, מִי יְשִׂמֵנִי שֹׁפֵט “who will set me as judge?” i.e. O that I were made judge! Isaiah 27:4, מִי יִתְּנֵנִי “who will give to me?” i.e. O that I had! Judges 9:29 Ps. 53:7 Job 29:2. Hence מִי יִתֵּן is a customary phrase in wishing; see נָתַן.
(2) Indefinite, whoever, whosoever; Exodus 24:14, מִי־בַעַל דְּבָרִים יִגַּשׁ אֲלֵיהֶם “whoever has a cause let him go to them;” Judges 7:3, מִי יָרֵא וְהָרֵד יָשֹׁב “who-ever is fearful and afraid, let him return;” Proverbs 9:4; Ecclesiastes 5:9; Isaiah 54:15 In Gr. and Lat. it maybe suitably rendered εἴ τις, si quis, if any one; 2 Samuel 18:12, שִׁמְרוּ מִי בַּנַּעַר “take care of the young men every one (of you).” Followed by אֲשֶׁר Exodus 32:33, מִי אֲשֶׁר חָטָא “whoever sinneth;” 2 Samuel 20:11 comp. Syr. ܡܰܢ ܕ.
Some regard מִי adv. to be put for how? in what way? like מָה B, 3. But in all the examples the common signification should be retained; Amos 7:2,, מִי יָקוּם יַעֲקֹב “who shall Jacob stand?” a brief expression for, who is Jacob that he should be able to stand? Compare the phrases under No. 1, letter d; Isaiah 51:19, מִי אֲנַחֲמֵךְ for the more full, מִי אָנֹכִי כִּי אֲנַחֲמֵךְ; Ruth 3:16.
Proper names beginning with מִי, as מִיכָאֵל, מִיכָה, מִיכָיָה etc., see below in their places.