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Bible Lexicons
Old Testament Hebrew Lexical Dictionary Hebrew Lexicon
Strong's #3588 - כִּי
- Brown-Driver-Briggs
- Strong
- that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since
- that
- yea, indeed
- when (of time)
- when, if, though (with a concessive force)
- because, since (causal connection)
- but (after negative)
- that if, for if, indeed if, for though, but if
- but rather, but
- except that
- only, nevertheless
- surely
- that is
- but if
- for though
- forasmuch as, for therefore
- that
- Book
- Word
did not use
this Strong's Number
1240) ik (כי KY) AC: Burn CO: ? AB: ?: Related to ek.
A) ik (כי KY) AC: Burn CO: ? AB: ?
Nm ) ik (כי KY) - I. Burning: II. Because:A reference to the previous or following context. KJV (47): burning - Strongs: H3587 (כִּי), H3588 (כִּי)
Jeff Benner, Ancient Hebrew Research Center Used by permission of the author.
here, and in certain pronouns, as Aramaic דֵּךְ this (W SG 110f.); perhaps also ultimately akin with 
that, in order that, and 
then, enclitic, like Latin nam in quisnam?) — 1 that (ὅτι, German dass):
a. prefixed to sentences depending on an active verb, and occupying to it the place of an accusative: so constantly, after verbs of seeing, as Genesis 1:10 וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים כִּי טוֺב and God saw that it was good, Genesis 3:6; Genesis 6:2,5; Genesis 12:14 #NAME? Genesis 14:14; Genesis 29:33, knowing Genesis 22:12; Genesis 24:14, telling Genesis 3:11; Genesis 12:18, repenting Genesis 6:6,7, swearing Genesis 22:16; Jeremiah 22:5, believing Exodus 4:5; Lamentations 4:12, remembering Psalm 78:35, forgetting Job 39:15; אָמַר = command (late; in early Hebrew the words said are quoted) Job 36:10,24 (זְכֹר in a command) Job 37:20 b 1 Chronicles 21:18 (contrast 2 Samuel 24:18) etc.; טוֺב כּי it is good that ... 2 Samuel 18:2 + (usually the infinitive with, as Genesis 2:18; see ibid.); Genesis 37:26 מַהבֶּֿצַעכִּי נַהֲרֹג what profit that we should slay (imperfect)...? Malachi 3:14 what proft כִּי שָׁמַרְנוּ that we have kept (perfect)...? Job 22:3 הַחֵפֶץ לְשַׁדַּי כִּי is it pleasure to Shaddai that...? after a pronoun, as Psalm 41:12 by this I know that thou hast pleasure in me, that my enemy cannot triumph over me, Psalm 42:5 these things will I remember... that ( or how) I used to go, etc., Psalm 56:10 this I know that God is for me Job 13:16 (הוא). And with כִּי repeated pleonastic after an intervening clause 2 Samuel 19:7; Jeremiah 26:15 +; כִּי ֗֗֗ וְכִי Genesis 3:6; Genesis 29:12; Exodus 4:31; Joshua 2:9; Joshua 8:21; Joshua 10:1; 1 Samuel 31:7; 2 Samuel 5:12; 1 Kings 11:21; Jeremiah 40:7,11; לֵאמֹר ֗֗֗ וְכִי Genesis 45:26; Judges 10:10.
b.כִּי often introduces the direct narration (like 
, 
, and the Greek ὅτι recitativum, e.g. Luke 4:21), in which case it cannot be represented in English (except by inverted commas), Genesis 21:30; Genesis 29:33 and she said, ׳כִּי שׁמע י Yahweh hath heard, etc.; Exodus 3:12 = Judges 6:16 and he said, כִּי אֶהְיֶה עִמָּ֑ךְ I will be with thee, Joshua 2:24; 1 Samuel 2:16 (see Dr) 1 Samuel 10:19 and ye have said to him, כִּי מֶלָךְ תָּשִׂים עָלֵינוּ Thou shalt set a king over us, 2 Samuel 11:23; 1 Kings 1:13; 1 Kings 20:5; Ruth 1:10, compare Ruth 2:21 (but in reply to a question כִּי may = because, see below
3; and so also in sentences giving the explanation of a proper name, Genesis 26:22; Genesis 29:32 (but De surely: see below), Exodus 2:10 (compare Genesis 4:25; Genesis 41:51,52); in כִּי מָה, introducing an expostulation, 1 Samuel 29:8; 1 Kings 11:22; 2 Kings 8:13, it gives the reason for a suppressed 'Why do you say this?').
c. especially after an oath חַי אָ֫נִי, ׳חַי י etc., introducing the fact sworn to, Genesis 42:16 by the life of Pharaoh, כִּי מְרַגְּלִים אַתֶּם (I say) that ye are spies; but though Hebrew usage probably gave it an asseverative force, English idiom does not require it to be expressed: Numbers 14:22; 1 Samuel 20:3 as ׳י liveth, כִּי כְפֶשַׂע בֵּינִי וּבֵין הַמָּוֶת there is but a step between me and death! 1 Samuel 26:16; 1 Samuel 29:6; Isaiah 49:18 +; 1 Samuel 14:44 כֹּהיַֿעֲשֶׂה אֱלֹהִים וְכֹה יוֺסִיף כִּי מוֺת תָּמוּת thus may God do and more also: thou shalt surely die! 2 Samuel 3:35; 1 Kings 2:23; Ruth 1:17 and elsewhere — Note that כִּי when thus used is often repeated after an intervening clause, in order that its force may be fully preserved: Genesis 22:16f.; 1 Samuel 14:39 כִּי מוֺת יָמוּת (אִםיֶֿשְׁנוֺ בְּיוֺנָתָן בְּנִי) כִּי׳חַי י 1 Samuel 25:34; 2 Samuel 2:27 ׳כִּי אָז וג (לוּלֵא דִּבַּרְתָּ) כִּי, 2 Samuel 3:9; 2 Samuel 15:21 Qr 1 Kings 1:30; Jeremiah 22:24.
d.כִּי is used sometimes with advs. and interjs. to add force or distinctness to the affirmation which follows: ( a) so especially in אַף כִּי (see אַף); הֲכִי is it that . . .? (as a neutral interrogative) 2 Samuel 9:1, (expecting a negative answer) Genesis 29:15 is it that thou art my brother, and shalt (therefore) serve me for nothing? Job 6:22 is it that I have said, Give unto me? expressing surprise Genesis 27:36 is it that he is called Jacob, and has (hence) supplanted me twice? 2 Samuel 23:19 an affirm. answer is required (which would imply הֲלֹא כִי): read probably with the "" 1 Chronicles 11:25 הִנּוֺ be-hold, he, etc.; אִםלֹֿא כִּי Deuteronomy 32:30 were it not that .. .; אָמְנָם כִּי Job 12:2 of a truth (is it) that ye are the people, etc.; אַךְ כִּי 1 Samuel 8:9; אֶפֶם כִּי Numbers 13:28 +; גַּם כִּי Ruth 2:21; הֲלֹא כִי 1 Samuel 10:1 (but see ᵐ5 Dr), 2 Samuel 13:28; הִנֵּה כִי Psalm 128:4; compare Psalm 118:10 כִּי אֲמִיַלם׳בְּשֵׁם י in the name of ׳י (is it) that — or (I say) that — I will mow them down; Job 39:27 doth the vulture mount up at thy command, וְכִי יָרִים קִנּוֺ and (is it) that it (so) makes high its nest? Isaiah 36:19 have the gods of the nations delivered each his land etc.? . . . וְכִי הִצִּילוּ i.e. (Hi) and (is it) that they have delivered Samaria out of my hand? > (Ew§ 354 c De Di) and that they have delivered Samaria out of my hand! = how much less (אַף כִּי) have they, etc.! ("" 2 Kings 18:34 כִּי alone, perhaps conformed by error to 2 Kings 18:35; 2 Chronicles 32:15 אַף כִּי, which however does not decide the sense of the original וְכִי). 1 Chronicles 29:14 וְכִי מִי read ומי or כי מי ( b) in introducing the apodosis, especially in כִּי עַתָּה (chiefly after לוּלֵא) indeed then . . ., Genesis 31:42; Genesis 43:10 for unless we had tarried כִּי עַתָּה שַׁבְנוּ surely then we had returned twice, Numbers 22:33 (read לוּלֵי for אוּלַי); Song of Solomon 1Samuel 14:30 ᵐ5 (after לוּא), and 1 Samuel 13:13 Hi We (לֻא for לֹא); after אִם Job 8:6 surely then he will awake over thee, etc. (But elsewhere כִּי עַתָּה is simply for now, Genesis 29:32; Job 7:21 +; or for then = for in that case, Exodus 9:15; Numbers 22:29; Job 3:13; Job 6:3 +). It is dubious whether כִּי אָז has the same sense: for 2 Samuel 2:27; 2 Samuel 19:7 the כִּי in כִּי אָז may be merely resumptive of the כִּי recitation preceding (see
a, c). Rare otherwise: Exodus 22:22 if thou afflict him כִּי אִםצָֿעֹק יִצְעַק 'tis that (= indeed), if he cries unto me, I will hear him, Isaiah 7:9 if ye believe not כִּי לֹא תֵאֵָמנוּ ׃ indeed ye will not be established.
e. there seem also to be other cases in whichכִּי, standing alone, has an intensive force, introducing a statement with emphasis, yea, surely, certainly (German ja — a lighter particle than these English words): see in AV RV Exodus 18:11; Numbers 23:23; 1 Samuel 17:25; 1 Samuel 20:26; 2 Kings 23:22; Isaiah 32:13; Isaiah 60:9; Jeremiah 22:22; Jeremiah 31:19; Hosea 6:9; Hosea 8:6; Hosea 9:12; Hosea 10:3; Amos 3:7; Psalm 76:11; Psalm 77:12 (Ew Che), Proverbs 30:2 (but not if construed as RVm), Ecclesiastes 4:16; Ecclesiastes 7:7,20; Job 28:1 +; Lamentations 3:22 (ᵑ6ᵑ7 Ew Th Öttli) the mercies of ׳י, surely they are not consumed (read probably תַמּוּ or תָֽמְמוּ for תמנו), Ruth 3:12 כִּי אָמְנָם yea, indeed. But it is doubtful whether כִּי has this force in all the passages for which scholars have had recourse to it, and whether in some it is not simply = for. De Proverbs 30:1 would restrict the usage to cases in which a suppressed clause may be understood.
f. that, expressing consecution, especially after a question implying surprise or deprecation: followed by perf., Genesis 20:9 what have I sinned against thee כִּי הֵבֵאתָ עָלַי that thou hast brought upon me? 1 Samuel 22:8; Isaiah 22:1 what aileth thee, that thou art gone up, etc.? Isaiah 22:16; Isaiah 36:5; Isaiah 52:5; Micah 4:9; Habakkuk 2:18; followed by participle Judges 14:3; 1 Samuel 20:1; 1 Kings 18:9 how have I sinned that thou art giving, etc.? 2 Kings 5:7; Ezekiel 24:19; usually followed by imperfect Exodus 3:11 who am I כִּי אֵלֵךְ that I should go, etc.? Exodus 16:7; Judges 8:6; Judges 9:28; 2 Kings 8:13; Isaiah 7:13; Isaiah 29:16 (also perfect), Psalm 8:5 what is man כִּי תִזְכְּרֶנּוּ? Job 3:12 or why the breasts כִּי אִינָָֽק ׃ that I should suck? Job 6:11 מַהכֹּֿחִיכִּי אִַיַחֵל, Job 7:12,17; Job 10:5f.; Job 13:25f.; Job 15:12 f; Job 15:14; Job 16:3; Job 21:15 +; after a negative, Genesis 40:15 here also I have done nothing כִּי שָׂמוּ that they should have placed me in the dungeon, Psalm 44:19f. our heart has not turned backward, etc. כִּי דִכִּיתָנוּ that thou shouldst have crushed us, etc., Isaiah 43:22 not me hast thou called on, כִּי יָגַעְתָּ בִּי that thou shouldst have wearied thyself with me, Hosea 1:6 (see RV), Job 41:2; Ruth 1:12 I am too old to have an husband כִּי אָמַרְתִּי that I should have said, etc. (compare Ew§ 337 a; Dr§ 39 δ).
g. added to preps. כִּי converts them, like אֲשֶׁר, into conjs. ..., as יַעַן כִּי because that...: see below יַעַן, עַד, עַל, עֵקֶב, תַּחַת.
2. a. Of time, when, of the past וַיְהִי כִּי Genesis 6:1 (compare Bu Urg. 6), Genesis 26:8; Genesis 27:1; 2 Samuel 6:13; 2 Samuel 7:1; 2 Samuel 19:26 + (כַּאֲשֶׁר and especially כְּ with infinitive, are more frequently); וְהָיָה כִּי (simple וְ) 1 Samuel 1:12; 1 Samuel 17:48; Joshua 22:7; Judges 2:18; Judges 12:5 והיה כייאמרו and it would be, whenever (frequently) they said, Jeremiah 44:19 (participle), Hosea 11:1; Psalm 32:3 כי החרשׁתי when I was silent, Job 31:21,26,29; of present (usually with imperfect) as Exodus 18:16 כִּי יִהְיֶה לָהֶם דָּבָר when they have a matter, 1 Samuel 24:20; Isaiah 1:12; Isaiah 30:21; Jeremiah 14:12; Zechariah 7:5,6; Malachi 1:8; Psalm 49:19 and men praise thee כִּי תֵיטִיב לָ֑ךְ when thou doest well to thyself, Psalm 102:1; Psalm 127:5 +, with perfect Ezekiel 3:19-21; Ezekiel 33:9; Proverbs 11:15; Proverbs 23:22; especially of future, as Genesis 4:12 כִּי תַעֲבֹד אֶתהָֿאֲדָמָה when thou shalt till the ground it shall not, etc., Genesis 24:41; Genesis 30:33; Genesis 31:49; Genesis 32:18; Exodus 7:9 when Pharaoh shall speak unto you, Deuteronomy 4:25; Deuteronomy 6:20 +; in phrase (׳תאֹמַר וג) וְכִי תאֹמְרוּ Leviticus 25:20; Deuteronomy 18:21; Isaiah 8:19; Isaiah 36:7; Jeremiah 13:22; and especially in ... וְהָיָה כִּי Genesis 12:12; Genesis 46:33; Deuteronomy 6:10; Deuteronomy 15:16; 1 Samuel 10:7; 1 Samuel 25:30; Isaiah 8:21; Isaiah 10:12 + often; with perfect Isaiah 16:12; 1 Chronicles 17:11 (altered from imperfect 2 Samuel 7:12); with participle (unusual) Numbers 33:51; Numbers 34:2; Deuteronomy 11:31; Deuteronomy 18:9.
b. elsewhere כִּי has a force approximating to if, though it usually represents a case as more likely to occur than אִם: — (mostly with imperfect) Genesis 38:16; Numbers 5:20; Numbers 10:32; Deuteronomy 6:25; Deuteronomy 7:17; Deuteronomy 28:2,13; 1 Samuel 20:13; 2 Samuel 19:8; 2 Kings 4:29; 2 Kings 18:22; Jeremiah 38:15; Proverbs 4:8; Job 7:13 (כי אמרתי when I say), Job 19:28; often in laws, as Exodus 21:14,33,35; Exodus 21:37; Exodus 22:4; Exodus 22:5 etc., Deuteronomy 13:13; Deuteronomy 14:24; Deuteronomy 15:7,12; Deuteronomy 17:2; Deuteronomy 18:6,21etc.; sometimes, in particular, to state a principle broadly, after which special cases are introduced by אִם, as Exodus 21:2 when (כִּי) thou buyest a Hebrew servant, he shall serve thee six years, after which Exodus 21:3-5 follow four special cases with אִם if: so Exodus 21:7 (כי), Exodus 21:8-11 (אם); Exodus 21:18 (כי), Exodus 21:19 (אם); Exodus 21:20 (כי), Exodus 21:21 (אם); Exodus 21:22 f; Exodus 21:28-32; Leviticus 1:2 (כי), Leviticus 1:3; Leviticus 1:10 (אם) Leviticus 4:2,3,13,27,32; Leviticus 13:2 ff. Numbers 30:3 ff. +; though this distinction is not uniformly observed, contrast e.g. Exodus 21:5 with Deuteronomy 15:16; Numbers 5:19 and Numbers 5:20. — N.B. with כִּי = when or if, the subject is often prefixed for distinctness and emphasis: 1 Kings 8:37 רָעָב׳כִּייִֿהְיֶה בָאָרֶץ דֶּבֶר כִּי יִהְיֶה וג, Isaiah 28:18; Micah 5:4 אַשּׁוּרכִּייָֿבאֹ בְאַרְצֵנוּ, Psalm 62:11; Ezekiel 3:19 (וְאַתָּה), Ezekiel 14:9,13; Ezekiel 18:5,18,21; Ezekiel 33:6 (compare Ezekiel 33:2); and especially in laws of P, as כִּי ֗֗֗ אָדָם Leviticus 1:2; Leviticus 13:2, ... נֶפֶשׁ כִּי Leviticus 2:1; Leviticus 4:2; Leviticus 5:1,4,15, similarly Leviticus 15:2,16,19,25; Leviticus 22:12,13,14etc., rather differently Numbers 5:20.
c. when or if, with a concessive force, i.e. though: — ( a) with imperfect Jeremiah 4:30 (3t. in verse); Jeremiah 14:12; Jeremiah 49:16 כִּיתַֿגְבִּיהַּכַּנֶּשֶׁר קִנֶּ֑ךָ though thou make high like the vulture thy nest, I will bring thee down thence, Jeremiah 51:53; Hosea 13:15; Zechariah 8:6; Psalm 37:24; Psalm 49:19f. though in his lifetime he bless himself ... he shall come, etc., perhaps also Jeremiah 46:23 Ew (but Hi Gf Ke for), Jeremiah 50:11 Ew Ke (Hi yea); and strengthened by גַּם, גַּם כִּי Isaiah 1:5; Psalm 23:4 (compare Dr§ 143); ( b) with perf. (rare) Micah 7:8 כִּי נָפַלְתִּי קָ֑מְתִּי though I have fallen, I rise, Nahum 1:10 (si vera 1.), Psalm 21:12 (Hi Ew Now), Psalm 119:88 (Ew De).
3 Because, since ὅτι —
a. Genesis 3:14 because thou hast done this, cursed art thou, etc., Genesis 3:17; Genesis 18:20; Genesis 17:20 the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah — because it is great ... (subject prefixed for emphasis: compare
2 N.B.) Isaiah 28:15; in answer to a question, Genesis 27:20; Exodus 1:19; Exodus 18:15; 2 Samuel 19:43 +. Enunciating the conditions under which a future action is conceived as possible (German indem) Leviticus 22:9; Deuteronomy 4:29 כי תדרשׁנו, Deuteronomy 12:20 (see Dr), Deuteronomy 12:25; Deuteronomy 12:28; Deuteronomy 13:19; Deuteronomy 14:24; Deuteronomy 16:15; Deuteronomy 19:6,9 +, 1 Kings 8:35 (compare 1 Kings 8:33 אֲשֶׁר), 1 Kings 8:36 כִּי תוֺרֵם, Proverbs 4:8b.
b. more commonly the causal sentence follows, as Genesis 2:3 and God blessed the seventh day ׳כִּי בוֺ שָׁבַת וג because on it he rested, etc., Genesis 4:25 etc., in which case it may often be rendered for, Genesis 2:5; Genesis 2:28; Genesis 3:20; Genesis 5:24; Genesis 6:7,12,13; Psalm 6:3 heal me כִּי נִבְהֲלוּ עֲצָמָ֑י for my bones are vexed, Psalm 10:14; Psalm 25:16; Psalm 27:10 + very often specifically after verbs expressive of mental emotions, as rejoicing Isaiah 14:29; Psalm 58:11, being angry Genesis 31:35; Genesis 45:5, fearing Genesis 43:18; Psalm 49:17 etc. Iron. 1 Kings 18:27 for he is a god etc. (4t.); Proverbs 30:4; Job 38:5 כִּי תֵדָ֑ע for or since thou knowest. With subject prefixed Psalm 128:2. Repeated (with anacoluthon) Isaiah 49:19.
c. the causal relation expressed by כִּי is sometimes subtle, especially in poetry, and not apparent without careful study of a passage. Thus sometimes it justifies a statement or description by pointing to a pregnant fact which involves it, as Isaiah 3:8a Job 6:21 (ground of the comparison Job 6:15-20), Job 14:16 ( For...: ground of the wishes expressed Job 14:13-15), Job 16:22 (ground of Job 16:20f.) Job 30:26 ( For ...), or by pointing to a General truth which it exemplifies Job 5:6 (reason why complaining Job 5:2-5 is foolish), Job 15:34; Job 23:14; sometimes it is explicative, justifying a statement by unfolding the particulars which establish or exemplify it 2 Samuel 23:5a; Isaiah 1:30; Isaiah 5:7; Isaiah 7:8; Isaiah 9:4; Isaiah 10:8-11; Isaiah 13:10 (development of Isaiah 13:9a); Isaiah 32:6f. (developing the characters of the נָבָל and כִּילַי, and so explaining why they will no longer be esteemed Isaiah 32:5); Job 11:16 ff. (explicit of Job 11:15b), Job 18:8 ff. (justifying Job 18:7), Job 22:26 ff. (justifying Job 22:25); elsewhere the cause is expressed indirectly or figuratively Isaiah 2:6 (reason why invitation Isaiah 2:5 is needed), Isaiah 5:10 (sterility of the soil the cause of the desolation Isaiah 5:9), Isaiah 18:5; Isaiah 28:8 (proof of the intoxication Isaiah 28:7), Isaiah 31:7 (reason for the exhortation Isaiah 31:6: the certainty that the folly of idolatry will soon be recognized), Job 7:21 (for soon it will be too late to pardon), Job 27:8-10 (Job wishes his enemy the lot of the wicked, because this is so hopeless); or כִּי relates not to the see which immediately precedes or follows, but to several, as Isaiah 7:16f. ( Isaiah 7:17 specially the ground of the people being reduced to simple fare Isaiah 7:15), Isaiah 21:6 ff. (ground of the statements Isaiah 21:1-5), Job 4:5 (ground of Job 4:2), Job 14:7-12 ( Job 14:10-12specially the ground for the appeal in Job 14:6), Job 23:10-13 (ground why God cannot be found Job 23:8f.), Psalm 73:21 (ground not of Psalm 73:20, but of the General train of thought Psalm 73:2); similarly Genesis 4:24; Deuteronomy 18:14; Jeremiah 30:11 the reason lies not in the words immediately after כִּי, but in the second part of the sentence; or, on the other hand, it may state the reason for a particular word, Isaiah 28:20 (justifying 'nought but terror' Isaiah 28:19), Job 23:17 ( God's hostility Job 23:16 the cause of his misery, not the calamity as such). Sometimes also כִּי, in a poetic orrhetorical style, gives the reason for a thought not expressed but implied, especially the answer to a question; Isaiah 28:11 (the mockeries of Isaiah 28:10 have a meaning) ' for with men of strange lips, etc. he will speak unto this people,' who will retort the mockeries, charged with a new and terrible meaning, upon those who uttered them ( Isaiah 28:13); = (no,) for Isaiah 28:28 (see RVm), Job 22:2 b no, he that is wise is profitable to himself, Job 31:18; Job 39:14 (see Job 39:13 b), Psalm 44:24 (he cannot do this, Psalm 44:23) for for thy sake are we killed, etc., Psalm 130:4 no, with thee is forgiveness; = (yes,) for Isaiah 49:25 (see the question Isaiah 49:24), Isaiah 66:8.
d.כִּי ֗֗֗ כִּי ἀσυνδέτως sometimes introduce the proximate and ultimate cause respectively, Genesis 3:19; Genesis 26:7; Genesis 43:32; Genesis 47:20; Exodus 23:33 for [else] thou wilt serve their gods, for it will be a snare to thee, Isaiah 2:6 (twice in verse); Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Unabridged, Electronic Database.
כִּי
(A) prop. relative pron. i.q. אֲשֶׁר, although in the Hebrew, that we have, this primitive use is extremely rare. This very ancient and truly primitive word is widely extended also in the Indo-Germanic languages; compare Sanscr. relat. jas, jâ, jat (softened for qas, etc.); interrog. kas, kâ, kim; Latin qui, quœ, quod; Pers. كى, كه, and even Chinese tshè, he, and tchè, who; the correlatives of these words are the demonstr. הִיא, هى, Gr. ἵ, ἴ=ἵς, ἴς, Latin is, idem; see Buttmann’s larger Gr. Grammar, i. 290; demonstr. and relat. דִּי, ذى (die); interrogatives מִי, τί. From the fuller and ancient form qui, by the rejection of the palatal from the beginning, have arisen also Pers. and Zab. وى, וי, Germ. wie; a trace of the palatal is found in the Anglo-Saxon hwa and hweo, Notk. As I judge, there is a most certain example of the use of this word as a relative in Genesis 3:19, “until thou returnest to the earth כִּי מִמֶּנָּה לֻקַּחְתָּ out of which thou wast taken” (LXX. ἐξ ἧς ἐλήφθης, and so also. Onk., Syr., Saad.), which is expressed in verse 23, אֲשֶׁר לֻקַּח מִשָּׁם. In this sentence it can scarcely be causal, for the cause immediately follows in these words כִּי עָפָר אַתָּה וְאֶל עָפָר תָּשׁוּב. An equally probable instance is Genesis 4:25, כִּי הֲרָנֹו קַיִן, Vulg. quem occidit Kaïn (LXX. ὃν ἀπέκτεινε Καΐν. Onk., Syr.); and in this passage nothing could be more languid than, “for Cain had killed him.” This more ancient usage is again found revived, Isaiah 54:6 “The Lord calleth thee as a wife of youth כִּי תִמָּאֵס who wast rejected” (LXX: μεμισημένην. Vulg. abjectam; Ch. who wast rejected); Isaiah 57:20, “the wicked are like a troubled sea כִּי הַשְׁקֵט לֹא יוּכַל;” Vulg. quod quiescere non potest. Other examples which have been referred to this usage are either uncertain (Deuteronomy 14:29; Psalms 90:4), or unsuitable (see Noldii Concord. Part. p. 372); but the primary pronominal power of this word no one will doubt, who has considered the analogy of other languages, and has compared the double use of the conjunction אֲשֶׁר. Just like אֲשֶׁר, Gr. ὅτι (whence uti, ut); Latin quod, quia; French que; it commonly becomes
(B) A relative conjunction.
(1) that (Germ. daß, sprung from the demonstr. bas changed into a relative), prefixed to sentences depending on an active verb, occupying to it the place of an acc.; as elsewhere אֲשֶׁר, and fully אֵת אֲשֶׁר (see אֲשֶׁר B, No. 1 ); Genesis 1:10, וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים כִּי טוֹב. prop. “and God saw (this) which was good;” Job 9:2, יָדַעְתִּי כִּי כֵן “I know this to be so.” So after verbs of seeing, Genesis 1:4 of hearing, 2 Kings 21:15; Isaiah 37:8 of speaking, Job 36:1-33:l0; demanding, Isaiah 1:12 knowing, Genesis 22:12, 24:14 42:33 Job 10:7 believing, Exodus 4:5; Job 9:16 remembering, Job 7:7, 10:9 forgetting, Job 39:15 rejoicing, Isaiah 14:29 repenting, Genesis 6:6, when in Latin there is used either an accus. with an infinitive, or the particle quod. In other phrases the sentence depending on this particle is to be regarded as the nominative, e.g. טוֹב כִּי it is good that; Job 10:3; 2 Samuel 18:3; Lamentations 3:28, and וַיְהִי כִּי which may be rendered in Latin accidit ut [it happened that], but properly accidit hoc, quod (es trug fich das zu, daß), Job 1:5; 2 Samuel 7:1, so frequently. Here belong
(a) הֲכִי num verum est quod? is (it so) that? (French est-ce-que?) for num? whether? Job 6:22, הֲכִי אָמַרְתִּי “is (it) that I said?” 2 Samuel 9:1 and so when an answer is expected in the affirmative, (compare הֲ No. 1, b), nonne verum est quod, is it not true that (French n’est-ce-pas-que), i.q. nonne? Genesis 27:36, 29:15 2 Samuel 23:19 (compare 1 Chronicles 11:21.
(b) כִּי added to adverbs and interjections, which have the force of a whole sentence, e.g. Job 12:2, אָמְנָם כִּי אַתֶּם הָעָם “(it is) true that you are the people.” So הִנֵּה כִּי behold that, does not differ from the simple הִנֵּה Psalms 128:4 חֲלֹא כִּי id.; 1 Samuel 10:1 אַף כִּי also that (see אַף ); אֶפֶס כִּי only that (see אֶפֶס ). In all these phrases כִּי may in Latin [or English] be omitted; and this is always done
(c) when כִּי is prefixed to oratio directa, like Gr. ὅτι in Plato [and New Test.], and Syr. ܕ (see a number of examples in Agrelli Otiola Syr. p. 19); Genesis 29:33, וַתּאֹמֶר כִּי שָׁמַע יְיָ “and she said, Jehovah has heard,” prop. she said, that Jehovah has heard; for the whole of what is said is regarded as in the accusative, depending on the verb of saying, Ruth 1:10; 1 Samuel 10:19. Often also after expressions of swearing, as חַי יְהֹוָה בִּי “by the life of God (I declare) that,” 1 Samuel 20:3, 25:34 26:16 29:6 חַי הָאֱלֹהִים 2 Samuel 2:27: חַי אֵל Job 27:2 הַי אָנִי Isaiah 49:18 כֹּה יַעֲשֶׂה לִי אֱלֹהִים וְכֹה יוֹסִיף 1 Samuel 14:44; 2 Samuel 3:9, 19:2 1 Kings 2:23 whence it is that by the ellipsis of such an expression it is put affirmatively, even at the beginning of an oracular declaration, Isaiah 15:1.
(2) so that, that, used of consecution and effect (compare Arab. كَىْ in the sense of that final, in order that). Job 6:11, מַה־כֹחִי כִּי אֲיַחֵל “what is my strength that I should hope?” Isaiah 36:5, עַל מִי בָטַחְתָּ כִּי מָרַדְתָּ “upon whom dost thou so trust, that thou shouldest rebel?” Isai. 29:16, “is then the potter as the clay כִּי יֹאמַר מַעֲשֶׂה לְעֹשֵׂהוּ וגו׳ so that the work may say of the workman, he hath not made me.” Exodus 3:11, מִי אָנֹכִי כִּיאֵלֵךְ אֶל פַּרְעֹה “who (am) I that I should go unto Pharaoh?” I am not such a one as can go before him. Hosea 1:6, “I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel כִּי נָשׂא אֶשָּׂא לָהֶם so as to pardon them. Exodus 23:33; Genesis 40:15; Judges 9:28; 2 Kings 8:13, 18:34 Job 3:12, 7:12, 17 Job 7:17, 10:6 15:14 21:15. Sometimes it has an intensitive force, so that, so even, even, compare עַד 2. Isaiah 32:13, “thorns grow up in the fields of my people, כִּי עַל בָּתֵּי מָשׂוֹשׂ even in the houses of joy,” etc. Comp. אֲשֶׁר B, 10. More fully it would be עַד־כִּי.
(3) used of time, i.q. ὅτε, pr. at that time, which, what time, when. Job 7:13, כִּי אָמַרְתִּי וגו׳ “when I say,” etc. Genesis 4:12, “when thou tillest the ground, it shall no more yield to thee its strength.” Hosea 11:1, “when Israel was a child I loved him.” Job 22:2, “can a man profit God, when (or where) he wisely profits himself?” Job 4:5. Leviticus 21:9; Isaiah 8:19. Of frequent use is the phrase וַיְהִי כִּי “and it came to pass when”- Genesis 6:1, 12:12 Exodus 1:10. Sometimes it has almost a conditional power, (compare אֲשֶׁר No. 4, and the German mann, menn, [so sometimes the English when]), as Deuteronomy 14:24, וְכִי יִרְבֶּה מִמְּךָ הַדֶּרֶךְ … וְנָתַתָּ וגו׳ “and when (if) the way be too long for thee … then thou shalt give (i.e. sell) it,” etc. In other places a distinction is carefully made between this particle and אִם conditional. Exodus 21:2, “when (כִּי) thou buyest an Hebrew servant, he shall serve thee six years; in the seventh he shall go out free. Exodus 21:3. If (אִם) he came in alone, alone he shall go out; if (אִם) with a wife, his wife shall go out with him. Exodus 21:4. If (אִם) his master hath given him a wife.… Exodus 21:5. and if וְאִם) the servant shall say,” etc. And thus to the single provisions of the law אִם is prefixed; but before the whole enactment כִּי. Compare in the same chapter, verse Exodus 21:7(כִּי) and verses Exodus 21:8, Exodus 21:9, 10 Exodus 21:10, 11 Exodus 21:11(אִם).-ver. 14 Exodus 21:14, 18 Exodus 21:18(כִּי) and ver. 19 Exodus 21:19(אִם).-ver. 20 Exodus 21:20(כִּי) and ver. 21 Exodus 21:21(אִם).-ver. 22 Exodus 21:22(כִּי) and 23 Exodus 21:23(אִם), and so 26 Exodus 21:26, 27 Exodus 21:27.- 28 Exodus 21:28, compare 29 Exodus 21:29, 30 Exodus 21:30, 32 Exodus 21:32. Also Genesis 24:41. (In Arabic there is a like distinction between إِذَا=כִּי and إِنْ conditional = אִם, although not always accurately observed.)
(4) כִּי is used of time, but in such a sense that (like other relatives) it passes over to a demonstrative power when it begins an apodosis, pr. tum, then, so (as elsewhere אֲזַי at the beginning of an apodosis, Psalms 124:2, seq., and וְ No. 1, e), Germ. dann, fo (which latter is a relat. fem.). Conditional words commence a protasis, as אִם Job 8:6, אִם זַךְ וְיָשָׁר אַתָּה כִּי עַתָּה יָעִיר עָלֶיךָ “if thou art pure and upright, then will he now watch over thee.” Job 37:20; Exodus 22:22 אִם לֹא Isaiah 7:9 לוּ Job 6:2 לוּלֵי Genesis 31:42, 43:10 אוּלַי (unless) Numbers 22:33. More rarely, and in a longer clause is it put after nouns absolute (as elsewhere וְ No. 1, letter e), Genesis 18:20, זַעֲקַת סְדֹם זַעֲמֹרָה כִּי רָ֑בָּה “the cry concerning Sodom and Gomorrah, so is it great.” Isaiah 49:19. Compare as to the same use in Aramaæan, Comment. on Isaiah 8:20.-From its relative use as to time (No. 3) there arises farther its power
(5) as a relative causal particle: because, since, while, Gr. ὅτι, Germ. weil (which also properly relates to time, from Weile for while, when), more fully יַעַן כִּי, עַל כִּי propterea quod, on account that (German dieweil). A causal sentence sometimes precedes, as Genesis 3:14, “because thou hast done this, thou art cursed,” etc. Genesis 3:17, “because thou hast hearkened to thy wife.… cursed be the ground,” etc.;-sometimes it follows; Lamentations 3:28, “he sitteth alone, and is silent כִּי נָטַל עָלָיז because (God) has laid (this) upon him.” When the causal clause follows, in Latin the causal demonstrative nam is commonly used, Gr. γάρ [Engl. for]. Psalms 6:3, “heal me, O Jehovah, כִּי נִבְהֲלוּ עֲצָמַי for my bones are troubled.” Psalms 10:14, 25:16 27:10 Isaiah 2:3,, 22 3:1, 10, 11 6:5 7:22, 24 8:10 9:3 10:22, 23 Isaiah 10:23; Genesis 5:24, 30:13 41:49 as so very frequently. כִּי stands almost always at the beginning of its clause; it is rarely inserted like the Lat. enim. Psalms 118:10, 128:2. If there be many causes of one thing, כִּי is repeated (when in German it would be weil … und weil, or denn … und), [Engl. because … and, or for … and], Isaiah 6:5, “woe is me, for I am undone, כִּי אִישׁ טְמֵא שְׂפָתַיִם אָנֹכִי … כִּי יְיָ רָאוּ עֵינַי because I am of unclean lips … (and) because my eyes (have) seen Jehovah,” i.e. because I, who am of unclean lips, have beheld God. Isaiah 1:29, 30 3:1, -9:35 ; 15:6, seq.; 28:19, 21 Isaiah 28:21; Job 3:24, 25 Job 3:25, 8:9 11:15, 16 Job 11:16; Ecclesiastes 4:14 also כִּי … וְבִי Isaiah 65:16; Job 38:20. Used disjunctively כִּי … וְכִי … וְכִי for … or … or. 1 Kings 18:27.
Sometimes the causal power of this particle is not immediately obvious, but by a careful examination of the connection of the sentences, it is found to exist. Job 5:22, “at destruction and famine thou shalt laugh, and of the beasts of the field thou shalt not be afraid. 23 Job 5:23. For (כִּי) with the stones of the field thou shalt have a covenant, and friendship with the beasts of the field.” Thou shalt have nothing to fear, because thy field shall be fertile, not covered with stones, nor overrun by wild beasts. Isaiah 5:10, “for (כִּי) ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer (ten ephahs) (shall yield) one ephah.” There had preceded, “the houses shall be laid desolate without inhabitants;” because of the great sterility of the fields the land shall be desolated. Isaiah 7:21, “in that day shall a man nourish a heifer and two sheep. 22..… יאֹכֵל כָּל־הַנּוֹתָר וגו׳ כִּי חֶמְאָה וּדְבַשׁ “for butter and honey shall they all eat who shall be left,” etc. In the desolated land for want of fruits and wine they shall live on milk and honey, and therefore they shall all attend to the keeping of cattle. Compare Isai. 17:3, seq.; 30:9. In other places כִּי sometimes does not refer to the words next preceding, but to those a little more remote. Isaiah 7:14, “therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign, behold a virgin shall conceive.… 16. for (כִּי) before the child shall know,” etc. i.e. in this very thing, which is contained in verse 16, was the sign of the prophecy contained (comp. Isaiah 8:4); 10:25, “fear not … 26 Isaiah 10:26. for yet a very little while and the punishment shall cease.” Joshua 5:5. Compare as to a similar use of the particle γὰρ, Herm. ad Viger, p. 846, ed. 3, and as to enim Ramshorn’s Lat. Gram. § 191, i. And כִּי also agrees with these particles, in its being put when any thing is brought forward as a matter of common knowledge, Germ. denn ja, ja (inserted in a sentence). Job 5:6, כִּי לֹא יֵצֵא מֵעָפָר אָוֶן nicht aus dem Boden keiwt ja das Unheil. -Isa. 32:68.-Ironical expressions are these, Proverbs 30:4, “what is his name, and what is his son’s name? כִּי תֵּדַע for thou knowest,” du weibt es ja. Job 38:5. 1 Kings 18:27, כִּי אֱלֹהִים הוּא “for he (Baal) is a god.”
From the causal power there arises
(6) its varied use in adversative sentences. For often
(a) after a negation, it is i.q. sed, but (fondern). Genesis 24:3, “thou shalt not take for my son a wife of the daughters of Canaan … 4. כִּי אֶל אַרְצִי … תֵּלֵךְ but thou shalt go unto my country,” etc. Prop. for thou shalt go unto my country: the former must not be done, because the latter is to be done. (Verse 38 Genesis 24:38, with the same context, there is put כִּי אִם.) Genesis 45:8, “you have not sent me hither, but (כִּי) God,” pr. for God sent me. Genesis 19:2, לֹא כִּי בָרְחוֹב נָלִין “(we will) not (go in); but we will lodge in the street.” Genesis 3:4, 17:15 18:15 42:12 Exodus 1:19, 16:8 Joshua 17:18; 1 Kings 21:15; 2 Chronicles 20:15; Psalms 44:8; Isaiah 7:8, 10:7 28:27 30:16 38:5 65:6, 18 Isaiah 65:18; Daniel 9:18. Compare כִּי אִם B, 1. Once for כִּי אִם B, 2. 1 Samuel 27:1, “nothing is well for me, כִּי אִמָּלֵט unless that I flee.” LXX. ἐὰν μή.
(b) On a similar principle is the use of כִּי in passages where, although an express negative does not precede, there is a negative force in the sentence itself. In Latin it may be more fully rendered (minime vero) sed, and simply enim, as in this example from Cicero (Tusc. ii. 24): “num tum ingemuisse Epaminondam putas, quum una cum sanguine vitam effluere sentiret? Imperantem enim patriam Lacedœmoniis relinquebat, quam acceperat servientem,” for “Minime vero, nam-;” Germ. nein fondern, nein denn; aber nein, denn ja. Job 31:17, “have I then eaten my morsel alone? have I withheld it from the orphan? 18 Job 31:18. nay but (כִּי) from youth he grew up with me as a father.” Micah 6:3, “what harm have I done to thee? Micah 6:4. (none) for I brought thee;” ich führte dich ja, etc. -Psa. 44:2123, “if we have forgotten God … would not God search this out. 24 Psalms 44:24. but on the contrary, (כִּי) for thy sake we are killed.” Job 14:16, “(oh! that thou wouldst hide me for a while in Hades, and afterwards recal me to life, though I know this to be impossible): כִּי עַתָּה צְעָדַי תִּסְפֹּר but no! (on the contrary) thou numberest my steps;” so far from dealing with me kindly, thou even art almost lying in wait against me. Psalms 49:11, 130:2 2 Samuel 19:23; Isaiah 49:24, 25 Isaiah 49:25. It rarely occurs
(c) without any previous negation, like ἀλλὰ γὰρ, enimvero, but truly, yet; aber ja, aber frehlich. (Comp. כִּי אִם letter B, No. 3:) Isaiah 28:28, “wheat is threshed, כִּי לֹא לָנֶצַח אָדוֹשׁ יְדוּשֶׁנּוּ yet it is not threshed hard;” aber man drifcht ihn frehlich nicht ftark. Isa. 8:23, כִּי לֹא מוּעָף לַאֲשֶׁר מוּצָק לָהּ “nevertheless, darkness (shall) not (always be) where (now) distress is;” aber frehlich bleibt’s nicht dunkel; or, aber es bleibt ja nicht dunkel.
(d) It introduces an explanation, like the Lat. atque, Isaiah 5:7; Job 6:21; Isaiah 51:3.-Also
(e) a causal power is also manifest in those examples in which it may be rendered by the Latin quanquam, although. Exodus 13:17, “God led them not by the way through the land of the Philistines, כִּי הוּא קָרוֹב although it was near (prop. for this was near): for (כִּי) he said,” etc. Psalms 116:10; Deuteronomy 29:18; Joshua 17:18.
(7) Prepositions, to which כִּי is joined (the same as אֲשֶׁר No. 11), are turned into conjunctions, as יַעַן כִּי and עַל כִּי on account of, because; עַד כִּי until that, until; עֵקֶב כִּי and תַּחַת כִּי for the reason that, because; see Lehrg. 637.
In the expression כִּי עַל כֵּן the relative conjunction is put before the adverb. For wherever this phrase occurs (Genesis 18:5, 19:8 33:10 38:26 Numbers 10:31, 14:43 2 Samuel 18:20; Jeremiah 29:28, 38:4 ) it is for עַל־כֵּן־כִּי on account that, because, like אֲשֶׁר עַל־כֵּן Job 34:27, for עַל־כֵּן אֲשֶׁר. [Gesenius afterwards entirely rejected the idea of any such transposition in the phrase; he would take כִּי in its own proper causal power, separating it in such cases from the following עַל־כֵּן; in other passages, he would take the compound phrase unitedly, as signifying on this account that.] A similar transposition occurs in לְמִּן for מִן לְ inde (for de-in); מִלְּבַד and לְבַד מִן; מִבַּלְעֲדֵי Syr. ܒܶܠܥܳܕ ܡܶܢ; בִּי אִם for אִם בִּי (see כִּי אִם letter C, No. 2 ), and in Gr. ὅτι τι for τι ὅτι. The opinion of Winer cannot be assented to, who (Simonis Lex. page 474), tries to show, with more toil than success, that with the exception of one example, 2 Samuel 18:20, this phrase is always to be rendered for therefore. See Sal. b. Melech on Genesis 18:5, כי על כן כמו על אשר וכן כל כי על כן שבמקרא.
A remarkable example of the various significations of כִּי is found in Joshua 17:18, “Thou shalt not have one lot only, but (כִּי) thou shalt have the mountain, since (כִּי) it is a forest, thou shalt cut it down, and its whole extent shall be thine; for (כִּי) thou must drive out the Canaanite, because (כִּי) they have chariots of iron, and because (כִּי) they are strong,” i.e. they are so troublesome and injurious to you; comp. Joshua 14:2.
