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# אוּלַי

Biblical Hebrew · Strong's H194

**if not** — used 45 times in the Hebrew Bible. Below: its meanings with their sources, MACULA's glosses, and 2 verses word for word and in JPS 1917.

## Meaning

### OpenScriptures lexical index

if not [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/194/#m1)

### Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906

אוּלַי²: adv. peradventure, perhaps [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/194/#m2)

**The whole BDB entry:** and (Gn 24:39) אֻלַי adv. (perhaps from אוֹ & לַי = לֵי, לֵא, as in לוּלֵא, = or not?) peradventure, perhaps; usually expressing a hope, as Gn 16:2 Nu 22:6, 11; 23:3 1 S 6:5 Je 20:10; but also a fear or doubt, as Gn 27:12 Jb 1:5, sq. לֹא Gn 24:5, 39; in mockery Is 47:12; Je 51:8. followed by another clause ἀσυνδέτως, it expresses virtually the protasis = if peradventure Gn 18:24, 28 (cf. v 29–32) Ho 8:7 the blade shall yield no meal; אוּלַי יַעֲשֶׂה זָרִים יִבְלָעֻהוּ if perchance it yield strangers shall swallow it up. in Nu 22:33 לוּלֵי (q.v.) must be read; unless she had turned aside from me, surely, etc.

Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech not compared, 17 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (26 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech not compared, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (20 candidates)

## Glosses

MACULA's English glosses of the word in the text, with how often each is used: perhaps (45).

## In the verses

[Lamentations 3:29](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/LAM.3.29/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/LAM.3.29/#tree)

יִתֵּ֤ן בֶּֽעָפָר֙ פִּ֔יהוּ אוּלַ֖י יֵ֥שׁ תִּקְוָֽה׃

*Word for word:* let.him.put in the dust mouth his perhaps there.\[is\] hope

*JPS 1917:* Let him put his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope.

[Genesis 24:39](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/GEN.24.39/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/GEN.24.39/#tree)

וָאֹמַ֖ר אֶל־אֲדֹנִ֑י אֻלַ֛י לֹא־תֵלֵ֥ךְ הָאִשָּׁ֖ה אַחֲרָֽי׃

*Word for word:* and I.said to master my perhaps not she.will.go the woman after me

*JPS 1917:* And I said unto my master: Peradventure the woman will not follow me.

## On Mova

- [This word in the Tanakh dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/194.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of its meanings](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/194/): every English meaning parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.

Sources. The words, their counts, glosses and the word-for-word renderings: MACULA Hebrew (the Westminster Leningrad Codex; Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0). Meanings: the OpenScriptures lexical index (CC BY 4.0), Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906 and Jastrow 1903 (public domain, via Sefaria); Targum Onkelos from Sefaria (public domain). Translation: JPS 1917 (public domain, from eBible.org).