H3860 H3860
therefore, on this account (rare particle)
A rare particle meaning 'therefore' or 'on this account,' appearing in Ruth and possibly Job. In Ruth 1:13, Naomi uses it twice in her bitter rhetorical questions: would you wait for sons to grow up? Would you remain unmarried for them? Therefore (לָהֵן) her daughters-in-law should not suffer on her account. The particle may be Hebrew or borrowed from Aramaic, showing linguistic fluidity in late texts.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Ruth 1:13 (×2) has Naomi reasoning: 'Would you therefore (הֲלָהֵן) wait...would you therefore (הֲלָהֵן) refrain from marrying?' The particle introduces the consequence or implication of her rhetorical questions—the unreasonableness of expecting them to wait. Job 30:24 is debated; some read לָהֵן 'to them,' while others see textual difficulty. The form matches Aramaic לָהֵן (Dan 2:6, 9; 4:24), suggesting either borrowing or shared Semitic root. Translations often render 'for them/to them' or 'therefore': Spanish 'acaso a ellos,' German 'zu wenn/etwa.' 3×
AR["لَهُنَّ", "هَلْ-لَهُمَا"]·ben["তাদের-জন্য", "তাদের-জন্য-কি"]·DE["etwa", "zu-wenn"]·EN["for-them", "to-them"]·FR["pour-eux", "להן"]·heb["ה-להן", "להן"]·HI["उनके-लिए", "क्या-उनके-लिए"]·ID["Apakah-untuk-mereka", "kepada mereka"]·IT["a-loro", "per-loro"]·jav["kanggé-piyambak-ipun", "menapa-kangge-piyambakipun"]·KO["그들-에게", "그들을-위해"]·PT["acaso-por-eles", "para-eles", "¶ Acaso-por-eles"]·RU["для-них", "разве-для-них"]·ES["a-ellos", "acaso-a-ellos"]·SW["je-kwa-ajili-yao", "kwao"]·TR["onlar-için-mi", "onlara"]·urd["چیخ", "کیا-اُن-کے-لیے"]
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
† לָהֵן conj. on this account, therefore, Ru 1:13(×2) (either from לְ and הֵן (v. sub הֵ֫מָּה); or the Aramaic לָהֵן Dn 2:6, 9; 4:24: see the Aramaic Lex.)