Bible HebrewIn, To, Like, From: בְּ לְ כְּ מִן
בְּ “in”, לְ “to”, כְּ “like” join the front of a word, and מִן means “from”.
בְּ “in”, לְ “to”, כְּ “like”, and מִן “from”
Three of the most common words in the Bible are a single letter. They join the front of the next word: בְּ “in, with”, לְ “to, for”, and כְּ “like, as”. So בְּרֵאשִׁית is “in the beginning” (Genesis 1:1), לְאִישׁ is “to a man, for a man”, and כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד is “as one man” (Judges 20:8). In the title of a psalm, לְ means “of, belonging to”.
Their vowel changes with the start of the next word:
| Before | They become | Example |
|---|---|---|
| most letters | בְּ לְ כְּ | בְּרֵאשִׁית in the beginning (Genesis 1:1) |
| a letter with a sheva, as in מְ (a word can’t start with two) | בִּ לִ כִּ | בִּמְעֵי הַדָּג in the belly of the fish (Jonah 2:1) |
| a half-vowel, as in עֲ or אֱ | the full vowel: בַּ לַ, or בֶּ לֶ | לַעֲשׂוֹת to do (Genesis 2:3) |
| הַ “the” | the article’s vowel | בַּבַּיִת in the house |
The last row is the merge you saw in The Definite Article, and it is how you spot “the”: לְמֶלֶךְ “to a king”, but לַמֶּלֶךְ “to the king”. Two words are special. With אֱלֹהִים the א goes quiet: לֵאלֹהִים “to God, for God” (Genesis 17:8). Before the name יְהוָה they are written לַ and בַּ: לַיהוָה “to yəḥawwe” (Genesis 4:3). The name is read aloud as אֲדֹנָי “Lord”, which starts with a half-vowel.
מִן “from, out of” can stand as its own word, or join the front of the next one. Joined, its נ drops and the next letter is doubled instead. A letter that can’t be doubled makes the vowel longer, as with the article. It can also mean “some of”.
| Form | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| מִן | as its own word, often with a hyphen | מִן־הָאָרֶץ from the earth (Genesis 2:6) |
| מִ and a doubled letter | joined to most words | מִמִּצְרַיִם from Egypt (Genesis 13:1) |
| מֵ | joined before א, ע and ר (and often ה and ח) | מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם from the land of Egypt (Exodus 20:2) |
Is it a preposition? Not every word that starts with ב, ל or כ has one. Take the letter off. If a word you know is left, as in בְּרֵאשִׁית, it is the preposition. In בַּיִת “house” or לֵב “heart”, the letter belongs to the word.
Check yourself
What does בְּרֵאשִׁית mean (Genesis 1:1)?
✓ in the beginning · to the beginning · like the beginning · from the beginning
בְּ “in” and רֵאשִׁית “beginning”.
Which little word means “like, as”?
✓ כְּ · בְּ · לְ · מִן
כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד “as one man” (Judges 20:8). בְּ is “in”, לְ is “to”, מִן is “from”.
Why does בְּ have the vowel ִ in בִּשְׁנַת “in the year of” (Isaiah 6:1)?
✓ the next letter has a sheva, and a word can’t start with two · it means “the” · the word is plural · it means “from”
בְּ comes before שְׁנַת, and a word can’t start with two shevas, so the first becomes i: בִּשְׁנַת, as in בִּמְעֵי “in the belly of”.
God says “let the birds multiply בָּאָרֶץ” (Genesis 1:22). What does בָּאָרֶץ mean?
✓ on the earth · from the earth · like the earth · to a land
בְּ “in” joins הָאָרֶץ “the earth”: the ה drops out and בְּ takes its vowel, בָּאָרֶץ.
← My, His, Our on Plural NounsWays to Say “You”: אַתָּה and לְךָ →
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