H2008 H2008
Hither, here; a deictic adverb of place meaning 'to this place,' extended temporally to mean 'now, up to this point.'
A pointing word — a deictic adverb that directs attention to the speaker's location, meaning 'hither' or 'here.' It appears in vivid narrative moments: Joseph telling his brothers 'God sent me here' (Gen 45:5), Rahab hiding the spies in Joshua 2, Elisha pacing back and forth (2 Kgs 4:35). In a handful of passages the spatial sense stretches into time, so that 'here' becomes 'now' or 'up to this point,' as when Jacob laments 'he is gone, and I have not seen him to this day' (Gen 44:28). Spanish captures the spatial sense with 'acá/aquí' and the temporal with 'ahora'; French similarly splits between 'ici' and 'maintenant.'
Senses
1. hither, here — Spatial deictic — 'hither, to this place, here.' The primary and most frequent usage (44 occurrences), directing attention toward the speaker's location or a proximate destination. Repeated forms like 'hither and thither' (hennah wa-hennah) convey back-and-forth motion (2 Kgs 4:35). Spanish 'acá/aquí' and German 'hierher' consistently mark this directional sense (Gen 15:16; 42:15; 45:5; Josh 2:2). 44×
AR["إلى هُنا-", "إِلَى-هُنَا", "الْآنَ", "هَهُنَا", "هُنا", "هُنَا", "هِيَ"]·ben["এখন", "এখানে", "এখানে।", "এপাশে"]·DE["hier", "hierher"]·EN["here"]·FR["ici"]·heb["הנה"]·HI["इधर", "यहन", "यहाँ", "यहां"]·ID["di-sini", "ini", "ke-sini", "sekarang", "sini"]·IT["qui"]·jav["ing-ngriki", "mriki", "mriki-", "sapunika"]·KO["여기", "여기로", "여기서", "여기에"]·PT["aqui", "para-cá"]·RU["здесь", "они", "сюда"]·ES["acá", "aquí"]·SW["hapa"]·TR["burada", "buraya"]·urd["ادھر", "یہاں", "یہاں۔"]
2. now, up to this point — Temporal extension — 'now, up to this point.' In six passages the spatial proximity is metaphorically mapped onto time, yielding 'until now' or 'at this point.' French distinguishes this clearly with 'maintenant' alongside 'ici,' while Spanish shifts to 'ahora.' Key passages include Gen 44:28 ('I have not seen him to this day') and 1 Sam 1:16 ('I have been pouring out my soul until now,' 1 Chr 9:18; 12:30). 6×
AR["الآنَ", "الْآنَ"]·ben["এখন", "তখন"]·DE["hier", "hierher", "nun", "siehe"]·EN["here", "now", "then"]·FR["ici", "maintenant", "voici"]·heb["הנה"]·HI["अब", "यहाँ", "यहां"]·ID["di-sana", "sekarang"]·IT["ecco", "ora", "qui"]·jav["sapunika"]·KO["여기", "지금"]·PT["agora", "aqui", "então"]·RU["ныне", "сей-поры", "сих-пор"]·ES["ahora", "aquí"]·SW["baba-yaku", "hapa", "sasa"]·TR["burada", "buraya", "şimdi", "şimdiye-kadar"]·urd["اب", "یہاں"]
Related Senses
H3117 1. day, specific time (2231×)H5704 1. until, unto, as far as (1238×)H8141 1. year, unit of time (880×)H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H6258 1. and now (421×)G2250 1. day (388×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H5750 1. again, more, further (288×)H5769 1. forever, to eternity (280×)H4057b 1. wilderness, desert region (270×)H3220 1. sea, body of water (269×)H6256 1. time, period (264×)H2320 1. month, calendar period (260×)H0310a 2. after (temporal) (258×)H0520a 1. cubit (unit of length) (246×)H3915 1. night, period of darkness (234×)H1242 1. morning (214×)H0127 1. ground, land (territory) (210×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
I. הֵ֫נָּה49 adv. hither (perhaps from II. הֵן, used δεικτικῶς, with ה-loc., proposes lo hitherwards! or perhaps akin to هُنَا, هَنَّا, هِنَّا here)— a. of place: (α) hither Gn 15:16 יָשׁוּבוּ הֵנָּה, 42:15; 45:5 that you have sold me הֵנָּה hither, v 8, 13 Jos 2:2; 3:9; 18:6 2 S 1:10 Is 57:3 וְאַתֶּם קִרְבוּ הֵנָּה, Je 31:8; 50:5 +; 1 S 20:21 מִמְּךָ וָהֵנָּה from thee and hitherwards, i.e. on…