[a] 1. Besides the use of rhetorical questions (§§ 150 d, 151a), independent sentences are made negative by the adverbs לֹא (Jb 621, where instead of the Keth. לוֹ we must evidently read לֹא; perhaps preserved as a substantive) = the Greek οὐ, not, אַל־ = μή (Jb 2425 as a substantive), אֵין (it is) not; טֶ֫רֶם not yet, אֶ֫פֶס not, אַפְסִי (cf. § 90 m) not. The forms בַּל, בְּלִי, בִּלְתִּי not belong almost entirely to poetry.—With regard to לֹא and אֵין the main distinction is that verbal-clauses (rarely noun-clauses, see e) are regularly negatived by לֹא (besides its use as negativing single words[1]), while אֵין is used exclusively with noun-clauses (see the examples below).
[b] The conjunctions פֶּן־ and לְבִלְתִּי that not, serve to negative dependent clauses. The particular uses of these particles are as follows:—
(a) לֹא (less frequently לוֹא), like οὐ, οὐκ, is used regularly for the objective, unconditional negation, and hence is usually connected with the perfect or imperfect (as indicative); on לֹא with the imperfect to express an unconditional prohibition, see § 107 o; on its use with the jussive, see § 109 d.—On לֹא for הֲלֹא nonne, in interrogative sentences, cf. § 150 a. In connexion with כֹּל, כָּל־ (= any), לֹא is used to express an absolute negation, nullus, none whatever (cf. the French ne... personne, ne... rien), usually in the order לֹא... כֹּל, e.g. Gn 31 לֹא תֹֽאכְלוּ מִכֹּל עֵץ הַגָּן ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden; 9:11, Ex 1015, 2010, Lv 723, Dt 89, Jer 137, 3217 (לֹא... כָּל־דָּבָר nothing at all; cf. the same statement in the form of a rhetorical question, Jer 3227); Pr 1221, 3030
- ↑ Especially in compounds, e.g. לֹא־אֵל lit. a no-God (Germ. Ungott)who is indeed called a god, but is not really a god, Dt 3221; לֹא אֱלֹהַּ verse 17, cf. Jer 57, 2 Ch 139; לֹא־עָם lit. a not-people (Germ. Unvolk), Dt 3221; לֹא דָבָר a nothing, Am 613; לֹא עֵץ lit. not-wood, Is 1015; לֹא־אִישׁ, לֹֽא־אָדָם lit. not-man, superhuman (of God), Is 318; לֹא־עֶ֫דֶק unrighteousness, Jer 2213, cf. Ez 2229; לֹא־סְדָרִים disorder, Jb 1022; לֹֽא־חָמָם not-violence, 16:17; after לְ Jb 262 f. (לֹא־כֹחַ, לֹא־עֹז helplessness, לֹא חָכְמָה insipientia); cf. also Is 552 בְּלוֹא לְשָׂבְעָה for what is unsatisfying; ψ 4413, Jb 811, 1532, 1 Ch 1233.—In Nu 205 a construct state with several genitives is negatived by לֹא.—Also לֹא is used with an infinitive, Nu 3523; with an adjective, לֹא חָכָם unwise, Dt 326, Ho 1313; לֹֽא־חָסִיד impius, ψ 431; לֹא־עָז and לֹֽא־עָצוּם not strong, Pr 3025 f.; לֹא־כֵן unsuitably, 2 K 79; לֹא־טוֹב not-good, Is 652, Ez 2025, &c.; לֹא טָהוֹר not-clean, 2 Ch 3017; with a participle, e.g. Jer 22 (unsown); (6:8, Ez 414, 2224, Zn 2:1, 3:5; the Masora, however, requires נֻחָ֫מָה in Is 5411, נֶֽעֱזָ֫בָה in 62:12, נוֹשָׁ֫בָה in Jer 68, רֻחָ֫מָה in Ho 16, i.e. always 3rd sing. fem. perf. in pause = she was not comforted, &c., and consequently not compounds, but either relative clauses or (Is 5411, Ho 16, and especially 2:25) main clauses instead of proper names.—On the above compounds generally, cf. the dissertation mentioned in § 81 d, note 2; on their use in sentences expressing a state, to convey attributive ideas, see u below.
