אָֽנֹכִ֫י, H0595
I (emphatic first person singular pronoun); the longer, solemn form alongside the shorter 'ani
Anokhi is the emphatic first person singular pronoun in Hebrew, standing alongside the shorter 'ani. With 359 occurrences, it appears prominently in solemn declarations and moments of high rhetorical weight. God uses it to open the Decalogue: 'Anokhi YHWH your God' (Exod 20:2). Joseph reveals himself with it (Gen 45:3-4). Its Akkadian cognate anaku and its absence from Aramaic and Arabic suggest an archaic pedigree. While modern Hebrew has largely abandoned anokhi in favor of 'ani, the biblical text preserves its dignified, weighty register for self-identification in moments of gravity.
Senses
1. I (first person singular pronoun, emphatic) — The emphatic or solemn form of the first person singular independent pronoun ('I'), used alongside the shorter 'ani (H0589). Favored in formal declarations, divine self-identification (Exod 20:2 'I am the LORD your God'), and emotionally charged speech (Gen 3:10 'I was afraid'). Its Akkadian cognate anaku and absence from Aramaic, Arabic, and Ethiopic point to archaic origins. The ku element may relate to a demonstrative base, giving the pronoun a 'here I am' quality that the shorter form lacks. 359×
AR["أَنَا"]·ben["আমি"]·DE["bin-ich", "ich", "werde-ich"]·EN["I", "I-am"]·FR["Je", "Je-suis"]·heb["אנכי"]·HI["मैं", "मैं-हूँ", "मैंने", "मैन", "मैने"]·ID["Aku", "Akulah", "aku"]·IT["io", "io-am"]·jav["Kula", "kula"]·KO["나", "나가", "나는", "나도", "나이다", "나입니다", "내가"]·PT["Eu", "eu"]·RU["Я", "я"]·ES["yo"]·SW["kuona", "mimi", "pia"]·TR["Ben", "ben"]·urd["میں", "میں-نے", "میں-ہوں"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
אָֽנֹכִ֫י, אָנֹ֑כִי (once Jb 33:9 אָֽנֹכִ֑י) pron. 1 s. comm. I; Gn 3:10; 7:4; 15:1, 2; 16:5 + often With הֲ, הֶאָנֹכִי †Nu 11:12 Jb 21:4. (Assyrian anâku, Ph. & Moab. אנך: not in Arabic Aramaic Ethiopic; but ku appears as the affix of the 1 s. in the Ethiopic verb (e.g. waladkū = Heb. יָלַדְתִּי). אָנֹכִי and אֲנִי appear to be two parallel formations (both containing the element ani [cf. the…