יֵשׁ137 H3426
There is, there are; an existential particle asserting presence or existence, occasionally used as a copula with suffixes or as 'substance.'
Yesh is Hebrew's compact existential particle — a single syllable that does the work of entire verb phrases in other languages. Where English requires 'there is' or 'there are,' and French il y a, Hebrew simply says yesh. It appears in declarative statements ('there is wheat in Egypt,' Gen 42:1), in probing questions (ha-yesh, 'is there?'), in conditional protases ('if there be fifty righteous,' Gen 18:24), and with pronominal suffixes as a kind of copula ('you are,' yeshka). The word's versatility across syntactic frames — declarative, interrogative, conditional, suffixed — masks what is semantically a single assertion: something exists or is present. A lone occurrence in Proverbs 8:21 preserves an archaic nominal sense, 'substance,' where Wisdom promises to give her lovers real, tangible wealth.
2. copulative with pronoun suffix — Used with pronominal suffixes as a copula predicating something of a specific person: 'you are,' 'he is,' 'it is' — 8 occurrences in conditional and rhetorical contexts. In Genesis 24:42 the servant says 'if you are [yeshka] dealing kindly'; in Genesis 24:49 'if you are willing'; in Deuteronomy 13:3 the LORD tests 'whether you really [yeshkem] love him.' The suffixed form transforms the impersonal existential into a personal copula, a function that Spanish estas and German du bist render with full conjugated verbs. This is syntactically and semantically distinct from sense 1 because the subject is a specific pronoun rather than an indefinite something. 8×
AR["تَكُنْ","كَانَ","كُنْتَ","كُنْتُمْ","هَلْ-أَنْتُمْ","هُوَ-مَوْجُودٌ","يُوجَدُ"]·ben["আছে","তুমি-আছ","তুমি-আছ-","তোমরা-আছ","তোমরা-কি","সে-আছে"]·DE["du","du-bist","du-sind","er-ist","es-ist","ihr","ist-hier","ob-du"]·EN["he-is","is-here","it-is","whether-you","you-are"]·FR["cela-est","est-ici","il-est","si-tu","tu-sont"]·heb["ה-ישכם","יש-ך","יש-כם","ישך","ישנ-ו","ישנו"]·HI["क्या-तुम","वह-है","है","है-तू","हो-तुम","होगी"]·ID["ada","ada-Engkau","apakah-Engkau","apakah-kamu","dia-ada","engkau","kalian"]·IT["e-qui","egli-è","esso-è","se-tu","tu-sono"]·jav["Panjenengan-","Panjenengan-wonten","panjenengan","panjènèngan","piyambakipun-wonten","punapa-panjenengan-sedaya","wonten"]·KO["계신다면","너희가","당신이","당신이-계시다면","있는-자","있더라도","있으면"]·PT["ele-está","estiver","há","se-vós","tu","tu-estás","tu-és","vos-és"]·RU["есть","есть-Ты","есть-вы","есть-он","есть-ты","любите-ли-вы"]·ES["está","estás-tú","esté","hay-te","hay-vosotros","si-vosotros","tú-estás"]·SW["ipo","kama","kama-mnampenda","mtafanya","unafanya","utawaokoa","yupo"]·TR["burada-olan","de-o","mı-siz","varsa","varsa-o","varsa-sen-","varsa-siz","varsanız"]·urd["بچانے-والا-ہے-تو","تم-ہو","کیا-تم","ہے","ہے-تو","ہے-تُو","ہے-وہ","ہے-یہ"]
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
1. there is, there are (existence) — The standard existential particle: 'there is, there are,' asserting that something exists or is present — 129 occurrences spanning declarative, interrogative, conditional, and conjunctive contexts. Jacob hears that 'there is grain in Egypt' (Gen 42:1); the LORD is in this place and 'I did not know it' (Gen 28:16). French il y a, Spanish hay, and German es gibt all converge on impersonal existential constructions, while Korean 있다 and Arabic hunaka provide direct equivalents. The particle's negative counterpart is en/eyn ('there is not'), and together they form the primary existential framework of Biblical Hebrew. 129×
AR["كَانَ","نَعَمْ","يوجَدُ-","يُوجَدُ","يُوجَدُ-"]·ben["আছে","আছে-","আছেন"]·DE["dort-ist","dort-ist-","es-gab","es-gibt","es-ist","es-ist-","ist-dort"]·EN["is-there","there-is","there-is-","there-was-"]·FR["est-là","il-y-a","il-y-eut-","là-est","là-est-"]·heb["יש","יש־"]·HI["हां","है","है-","है-कोई"]·ID["ada","ada-","masih-ada"]·IT["c'era-","c'è","c'è-","là-è","là-è-","è-là"]·jav["Wonten-","wonten","wonten-"]·KO["있느냐","있느냐-","있는","있다","있다-","있다고","있다면","있도다","있으면"]·PT["houver","há","há-"]·RU["есть","есть-"]·ES["está","hay","hay-"]·SW["baba-yangu","kuna","kuwepo","ndio","upo"]·TR["Var","var","var-","var-mı-","varsa"]·urd["ہاں","ہے","ہے-"]
Gen 23:8, Gen 28:16, Gen 33:9, Gen 33:11, Gen 42:1, Gen 42:2, Gen 44:20, Gen 44:26, Judg 18:14, Judg 19:19, Judg 19:19, Ruth 1:12 (+38 more)
3. sense 3 — A rare nominal use meaning 'substance, wealth, something real' — a single occurrence in Proverbs 8:21 where Wisdom declares 'to cause those who love me to inherit yesh.' Here the word is not functioning as a particle but as a concrete noun: real, substantial possession. The translation traditions diverge: English 'substance,' Spanish hay (defaulting to existential), French il y a, but the context demands a noun serving as the direct object of 'inherit.' BDB cites this as the lone survival of an older nominal sense, related to the word's etymological core of 'being' or 'that which exists.' 1×
AR["غِنًى"]·ben["আছে"]·DE["es-ist"]·EN["substance"]·FR["il-y-a"]·heb["יש"]·HI["सम्पत्ति"]·ID["kekayaan"]·IT["c'è"]·jav["kasugihan"]·KO["실체-를"]·PT["substância"]·RU["имущество,"]·ES["hay"]·SW["mali"]·TR["var-olandır"]·urd["ہے"]
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×)G1510 3. infinitival, to be (128×)G1510 4. subjunctive/imperative, may be / let be (83×)H1934 1. to be, exist (65×)H1961 2. become, come to be (Qal inchoative) (55×)G5225 1. to be, to exist (45×)H0194 1. (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×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
יֵשׁ137 subst. being, substance, existence (on etym. v. 2)—יֵשׁ Gn 18:24 etc.; יֶשׁ־ 31:29 + often; הֲיֵשׁ 24:23 + 18 times (so אִשׁ 2 S 14:19 †, הַאִשׁ Mic 6:10 †, v. p. 78), with sf. יֶשְׁךָ v 42 + 2 times; יֶשְׁכֶם v 49 †; הֲיִשְׁכֶם Dt 13:4 †; יֶשְׁנוֹ (Ol§ 97 b Sta§ 370 b) 29:14; 1 S 14:39 (+ v 41 𝔊 We Dr), 23:23; Est 3:8 †;— 1. substance, only Pr 8:21 לְהַנְחִיל אֹהֲבַי יֵשׁ to cause them…