H2004 H2004
Third-person feminine plural pronoun 'them' (hen), appearing only with prefixed prepositions: bahen, mehen, kahen
The third-person feminine plural pronoun hen, which in Biblical Hebrew surfaces only when governed by a prefixed preposition — bahen ('in/among/with them'), mehen ('from/of them'), and kahen ('like them'). It never appears as an independent subject pronoun in the biblical corpus, unlike its masculine counterpart hem. The referents range widely: the cities from which Lot was rescued (Gen 19:29), Rachel's children for whom she labored (Gen 30:26), the tabernacle's libation vessels (Exod 25:29; 37:16), and censers offered with unauthorized fire (Lev 10:1). German glosses interestingly show Priester ('priest') for some occurrences, reflecting confusion with the homograph kohen.
Senses
1. them (3rd person feminine plural pronoun) — A bound feminine plural pronoun referring to previously mentioned feminine nouns, always appearing with a prefixed preposition. With beth it marks instrumentality or location ('in/with them,' Exod 25:29; Lev 10:1), with min it marks separation or comparison ('from/than them,' Gen 19:29; Gen 30:26), and with kaph it marks similarity ('like them'). The pronoun is purely functional with no lexical content of its own. The cross-linguistic evidence — spa con-ellas, fra avec-eux, deu in-ihnen — consistently renders the prepositional phrase rather than the pronoun alone, confirming its bound grammatical nature. 13×
AR["أَكْثَرَ-مِنْهُنَّ", "بِها", "بِهِمَا", "بِهِنَّ", "فِيهَا", "كَـ-مِثْلِهَا"]·ben["তাতে", "তাদের-জন্য", "তাদের-থেকে", "তাদের-দ্বারা", "তাদের-মধ্য-দিয়ে", "তাদের-মধ্যে", "সেগুলিতে", "সেরকম।"]·DE["Priester", "[מהן]", "in-ihnen", "mit-ihnen", "um-ihretwillen"]·EN["for-them", "in-them", "like-them", "than-them", "through-them", "with-them"]·FR["[כהן]", "[מהן]", "avec-eux", "dans-eux", "elles", "en-eux", "pour-eux"]·heb["ב-הן", "בהן", "כהן", "מהן"]·HI["उन-में", "उनमे", "उनमें", "उनसे", "उसी-प्रकार", "पृथ्वी", "में-उन", "से-उन"]·ID["dari-mereka", "dari-mereka,", "dengan mereka", "dengannya", "di-dalamnya", "seperti-itu", "untuk mereka"]·IT["[מהן]", "con-loro", "esse", "in-loro", "per-loro", "sacerdote"]·jav["ing-ngriku", "ing-piyambakipun", "ing-piyambakipun-sadaya", "kados-makaten", "kanggé-piyambakipun", "kanthi-piyambakipun;", "mawi-punika", "mawi-punika,", "saking-piyambakipun", "wonten-ing-piyambakipun", "wonten-ngriku"]·KO["같이", "그것들-안에", "그것들로", "그것들에-있는", "그것들에서", "그것들을-통해", "그들보다-더", "그들에-대하여"]·PT["com-elas", "como-eles", "do-que-elas", "mais-do-que-elas", "nelas", "neles", "por-elas"]·RU["больше-них", "в-них", "за-них", "ими", "подобное", "через-них"]·ES["así", "con-ellas", "con-ellos", "en-ellas", "en-ellos", "más-que-ellas", "por-ellas"]·SW["hapo", "kuliko-wao", "kwa-hiyo", "kwa-hizo", "kwa-wao", "ndani-yake", "ndani-yao", "vivyo-hivyo"]·TR["-de-onlarda", "benzer", "içinde", "içine", "içlerinden", "içlerine", "onlar-için", "onlarda-", "onlardan", "onlarla"]·urd["-اُن-میں", "اُن-سے", "اُن-سے-زیادہ", "اُن-میں", "اُن-کے-لیے", "ایسا", "سے-اُن", "میں-اُن"]
Gen 19:29, Gen 30:26, Exod 25:29, Exod 37:16, Lev 10:1, Lev 11:21, Num 16:7, Jer 4:29, Jer 48:9, Jer 51:43, Ezek 16:47, Ezek 16:52 (+1 more)
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
I. [הֵן] pron. 3 pl.fem., often in NH, in Bibl. Heb. only with prefixes, בָּהֵן, etc.: see under הֵ֫מָּה" dir="rtl" >הֵמָּה 8 d.