H3863 H3863
If only, would that; also conditional 'if' for counterfactual situations; rarely negative or dubitative.
Lu is a small but emotionally charged particle that carries the weight of unfulfilled longing and unrealized possibility. Its primary force is optative — 'if only,' 'would that' — giving voice to some of Scripture's most poignant wishes: Abraham's plea 'O that Ishmael might live before you!' (Gen 17:18) and Israel's bitter cry in the wilderness, 'Would that we had died in Egypt!' (Num 14:2). In its conditional use, lu introduces counterfactual scenarios that never materialized: 'if they had been wise, they would understand' (Deut 32:29). The Arabic cognate law functions identically as both optative and counterfactual conditional, confirming this dual function is ancient Semitic inheritance rather than a Hebrew innovation. French and German translations reveal the tension translators feel: rendering the same particle as ojalá/si-seulement ('if only') in wishes but si/wenn ('if') in hypotheticals.
Senses
1. if only, would that — Optative particle expressing unfulfilled wish or longing — 14 occurrences, the dominant sense. Covers Abraham's prayer for Ishmael (Gen 17:18), the Israelites' death-wish in the wilderness (Num 14:2, twice), and Moses' lament 'Oh that they were wise!' (Deut 32:29 in some readings). The emotional register ranges from desperate yearning to resigned regret. Spanish ojalá (from Arabic inshallah) and French si-seulement both deploy dedicated wish-particles, while the Hebrew particle itself carries no verb — the desire lives entirely in the syntax of what follows. 14×
AR["لَوْ", "لَيْتَ", "لَيْتَ-", "لَيْتَنَا", "لَيْتَهُ", "وَ-لَيتَ"]·ben["অনুগ্রহ-করে", "এবং-যদি", "এবং-হায়", "যদি", "যদি-", "হোক"]·DE["[לוא]", "doch", "ihm", "möchte-doch", "und-wenn-nur", "wahrlich", "wenn-doch", "wenn-nur"]·EN["If-only", "Oh-that", "and-if-only", "if-only", "indeed"]·FR["[לוא]", "en-effet", "et-si-seulement", "si-seulement"]·heb["ו-לו", "לו"]·HI["और-काश", "कअश", "काश", "काश-"]·ID["Oh-seandainya", "Seandainya", "Sekiranya", "dan-seandainya", "kalau-saja", "kiranya", "seandainya", "sekiranya"]·IT["[לוא]", "a-lui", "e-se-solo", "if-only", "invero", "se-solo"]·jav["Manawi-kèmawon", "Mbok-bilih-", "Menawi-kemawon", "Saupami", "bokmanawi", "lan-langkung-sae", "mbok-bilih", "mugi", "saestu-"]·KO["그리고-차라리", "만약", "만일", "부디", "오", "오-", "오-만일", "오-찢으셨더라면", "차라리"]·PT["E-oxalá", "Oh", "Quem-dera", "Se", "Se-ao-menos", "de-fato", "e-se", "oh-se", "oh-se-", "oxalá", "quem-dera", "se"]·RU["О-если-бы", "бы", "если-бы", "и-о", "о", "о-если-бы", "о-если-бы-", "ох", "пусть"]·ES["Oh-que", "Ojalá-", "Si", "ojalá", "ojalá-", "si", "y-ojalá", "¡Oh-si", "¡Oh-si-"]·SW["Laiti", "iwe", "je-si", "kwangu", "laiti", "laiti-", "na-laiti"]·TR["Keske", "keske-", "keşke", "keşke-", "ve-keşke"]·urd["اور-کاش", "اے-کاش", "کاش", "کاش-"]
2. if (conditional) — Conditional particle introducing counterfactual or hypothetical protasis — 7 occurrences. States what would have been the case under conditions that did not obtain: 'If the LORD had desired to kill us, he would not have accepted our offering' (Judg 13:23); 'If my brothers were still alive, I would not kill you' (Judg 8:19). The protasis takes a perfect verb, and the apodosis typically carries a negative or imperfect. Arabic law with past tense maps exactly onto this pattern, as does German wenn with subjunctive, confirming the counterfactual frame. 7×
AR["(لَوْ)", "(وَ-لَوْ)", "لَو", "لَوْ", "لَوْ-"]·ben["এবং-যদিও", "যদি", "যদি-"]·DE["[לו]", "ihm", "wenn"]·EN["(and-even-if)", "(if)", "if", "if-"]·FR["(and-même-if)", "(if)", "si", "si-seulement", "à-lui"]·heb["(ו-לו)", "לו", "לו-"]·HI["अगर", "और-अगर", "यदि", "यदि-"]·ID["'Seandainya-", "(dan-seandainya)", "(seandainya)", "Seandainya-", "jika", "seandainya"]·IT["(and-anche-if)", "(if)", "[לו]", "se"]·jav["Saupami-", "menawi", "sanadyan", "saupami", "saupami-"]·KO["그리고-비록", "만야", "만약-", "만일", "만일-"]·PT["(se)", "Se", "e-mesmo-se", "se", "se-"]·RU["Если-", "если-", "если-бы", "если-бы-", "и-если-бы"]·ES["(si)", "(y-si)", "Si", "si"]·SW["Ikiwa", "hata-kama", "kama", "laiti"]·TR["(keşke)", "(ve-keşke)", "Eğer-", "eğer", "keşke-", "mı-"]·urd["(اور-اگر)", "(اگر)", "اگر", "اگر-", "کاش"]
3. not (negative) — Negative sense 'not' — a single disputed occurrence at Job 9:33 where lu may function as a negator: 'there is not an arbiter between us.' Some grammarians treat this as a variant of lo ('not') rather than a separate sense of lu, and the French rendering si-seulement suggests translators themselves were uncertain. The Joban context, rich in rare and archaic particles, may preserve an older Semitic negative usage that Arabic law occasionally exhibits. 1×
AR["لا"]·ben["নেই"]·DE["nicht"]·EN["not"]·FR["si-seulement"]·heb["לא"]·HI["नहीं"]·ID["Tidak"]·IT["non"]·jav["mboten"]·KO["않다-"]·PT["Não"]·RU["нет"]·ES["No"]·SW["hakuna"]·TR["değil"]·urd["نہیں"]
4. perhaps, possibly — Dubitative particle expressing possibility — a single occurrence at Gen 50:15 where Joseph's brothers fear 'perhaps Joseph will hate us.' The shift from wish to apprehension is subtle: the same particle that elsewhere expresses longing here introduces anxious possibility. Spanish quizá and German vielleicht both select dedicated 'perhaps' vocabulary, while French peut-être confirms the probabilistic rather than optative reading. This marginal sense may represent lu at the far edge of its irrealis semantic range. 1×
AR["لَعَلَّ"]·ben["যদি"]·DE["vielleicht"]·EN["perhaps"]·FR["peut-être"]·heb["לו"]·HI["शायद"]·ID["mungkin"]·IT["forse"]·jav["Bokmenawi"]·KO["아마도"]·PT["Talvez"]·RU["может-быть"]·ES["quizá"]·SW["kwa"]·TR["Belki"]·urd["شاید"]
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×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H1961 1. be, exist, was (Qal copular/existential) (3505×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)G1510 1. copulative, linking predication (2095×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† לוּ17 and לוּא (†1 S 14:30; Is 48:18; 63:19), also לֻא (Qr לוּ), †2 S 18:12; 19:7 (Arabic لَوْ, Aramaic ܠܘܰܝ, לְוַי, Mishn. לְוַי, Assyrian lû, with opt. force, Dl§§ 78 end, 93, 145; cf. Köii. 333), conj. if, O that:— 1. if (stating a case which has not been, or is not likely to be, realized): a. sq. pf. (so mostly), Dt 32:29 לו חכמו ישׂכילו זאת if they had been wise (which they are not), they…