H0194 H0194
perhaps, peradventure — an adverb expressing hopeful possibility, anxious doubt, or conditional supposition
Ulay is the Hebrew adverb of uncertain possibility, covering the spectrum from hopeful expectation to anxious fear. Across its 45 occurrences, it most often expresses a cautious hope: Sarah's 'perhaps I shall obtain children through her' (Gen 16:2), Balak's 'perhaps I shall be able to defeat them' (Num 22:6), and Abraham's servant wondering 'perhaps the woman will not follow me' (Gen 24:5). In Abraham's intercession for Sodom, ulay functions as a virtual conditional: 'Perhaps there are fifty righteous — will you spare the city?' (Gen 18:24-32), each iteration ratcheting the number downward. Occasionally it carries a note of ironic mockery, as when Isaiah taunts Babylon: 'Perhaps you may profit from your sorceries' (Isa 47:12). The translations capture the tentativeness well: Spanish 'quizas,' French 'peut-etre,' German 'vielleicht.'
Senses
1. sense 1 — An adverb of contingent possibility, introducing a clause whose outcome is uncertain but contemplated with hope, fear, or speculation. Most commonly expresses a hopeful wish ('perhaps God will be gracious,' 2 Sam 16:12; 'perhaps I shall be built up through her,' Gen 16:2) or an apprehensive doubt ('perhaps the woman will not follow me,' Gen 24:5, 39). In the Sodom intercession (Gen 18:24-32), it functions as a conditional protasis ('if perhaps there are fifty righteous'). Occasionally tinged with irony, as when prophets mock pagan reliance on rituals (Isa 47:12; Jer 51:8). All 45 occurrences share this single modal-epistemic sense of uncertain possibility. 45×
AR["رُبَّما", "رُبَّمَا", "لَعَلَّ", "لَعَلَّ-هُ", "لَعَلَّي", "لَعَلِّي", "لَوْلَا"]·ben["সম্ভবত", "হয়ত", "হয়তো"]·DE["vielleicht"]·EN["perhaps"]·FR["peut-être"]·heb["אולי", "אלי"]·HI["शयद", "शायद"]·ID["mungkin"]·IT["forse"]·jav["Bok-bilih", "Menawi", "bok-bilih", "bokmenawi", "manawi", "mbok-bilih", "mbok-menawi", "mbokbilih", "menawi"]·KO["아마", "아마도", "혹시"]·PT["Talvez", "talvez"]·RU["Может-быть", "если-бы", "может-быть"]·ES["quizás"]·SW["Labda", "labda"]·TR["Belki", "belki", "eğer"]·urd["شاید"]
Related Senses
H1961 1. be, exist, was (Qal copular/existential) (3505×)G1510 1. copulative, linking predication (2095×)G1096 1. become, change state (421×)G1096 2. happen, occur, take place (158×)G1510 2. participial, being (circumstantial/attributive) (157×)H3426 1. there is, there are (existence) (129×)G1510 3. infinitival, to be (128×)H1934 1. to be, exist (65×)H1961 2. become, come to be (Qal inchoative) (55×)G5225 1. to be, to exist (45×)G1096 3. come, arrive, appear (28×)G1096 4. let it be, may it be done (22×)H0383 1. there is/are, to exist (Aramaic existential particle) (19×)G1096 5. may it never be! (16×)G2673 1. abolish, bring to an end (16×)G1510 5. existential, there is/exists (15×)G5225 2. possessions, property, goods (14×)G1096 6. be, exist, find oneself (13×)H7136a 1. happen, occur, befall (12×)H7122 2. to befall, happen to (10×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
II. אוּלַי44 and (Gn 24:39) אֻלַי adv. (perhaps from אוֹ & לַי = לֵי, לֵא, as in לוּלֵא, = or not?) 1. 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. 2. followed by another clause ἀσυνδέτως, it expresses virtually the protasis = if peradventure Gn…