H0492 H0492
a certain one, so-and-so, unnamed person or place (indefinite designator)
An indefinite term meaning 'a certain one' or 'such-and-such,' used when the speaker deliberately leaves a name unspecified. Ruth uses it when Boaz addresses an unnamed kinsman-redeemer as 'friend' (literally 'so-and-so'). Samuel and Kings employ it for unnamed places when exact locations are withheld for strategic or narrative reasons. The term functions like 'what's-his-name' or 'such-and-such place' in English—acknowledging someone or something exists while declining to specify identity.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Ruth 4:1 has Boaz call out to the nearer kinsman-redeemer, addressing him as 'so-and-so' rather than by name—a curious narrative choice that keeps focus on Boaz while acknowledging the legal requirements. 1 Samuel 21:3 and 2 Kings 6:8 use the phrase for unnamed places: 'to such-and-such a place.' The construction combines two indefinite markers, doubling down on the vagueness. This formulaic expression served both literary purposes (maintaining suspense or focus) and practical ones (military secrecy in the Kings passage). 3×
AR["الْمَجْهُولِ", "وَ-فُلَانُ", "وَفُلانٍ"]·ben["তমুক"]·DE["[אלמני]", "ein-certain", "unnamed"]·EN["a-certain", "such-and-such", "unnamed"]·FR["tel-et-tel", "un-certain", "unnamed"]·heb["אלמוני"]·HI["अल्मोनी", "छुपि", "व्यक्ति"]·ID["dan-itu", "itu", "si-Anu"]·IT["such-e-such", "un-certo", "unnamed"]·jav["fulan", "menika", "tartamtu"]·KO["곳으로", "아무나", "어느"]·PT["e-tal", "sicrano"]·RU["и-такой-то", "такому", "такому-то"]·ES["de-tal", "y-tal"]·SW["fulani", "mahali"]·TR["filan", "sunu"]·urd["فلاں", "فلاں۔"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† אַלְמֹנִי adj. some one, a certain (name unspoken); מְקוֹם פְּלֹנִי א׳ 1 S 21:3 2 K 6:8; פ׳ א׳ alone, of person, = such-an-one, so-and-so Ru 4:1.