H4101 H4101
Aramaic interrogative pronoun and particle: what? whatever; how! (manner/degree); why? (reason).
The Aramaic counterpart of Hebrew mah, serving as an all-purpose interrogative and indefinite pronoun in the biblical Aramaic portions of Daniel and Ezra. In its primary use it asks 'what?' — as in Daniel 2:22, 'He knows what is in the darkness,' where Arabic ma ('what') and Spanish que align perfectly. Combined with the preposition ke- it becomes an exclamatory 'how!' expressing wonder at God's great signs (Dan 4:3). With le- it forms 'why?' or 'for what reason?', as in Ezra 4:22's warning against negligence lest damage grow — a construction Spanish renders as por que and German as zu was.
Senses
1. what? (interrogative pronoun) — The interrogative and indefinite pronoun 'what? / whatever': asking about identity, nature, or content, or functioning as an indefinite relative. Arabic ma and Spanish que/lo que converge on this core pronominal function. Covers standalone questions like 'what have you done?' (Dan 4:32) and relative uses like 'whatever you need' (Ezra 6:9) and 'He knows what is in the darkness' (Dan 2:22). The compound mah di ('that which') extends this into indefinite relative territory (Dan 2:28, 29, 45). 9×
AR["مَا", "مَا-", "مَاذَا", "وَ-ما"]·ben["আর-যা", "কী", "কী-"]·DE["und-was", "was"]·EN["and-what", "and-whatever", "what", "what-"]·FR["et-quoi", "quoi?"]·heb["ו-מה", "מה"]·HI["और-जो", "क्या"]·ID["Dan-apa", "apa"]·IT["che-cosa", "e-che"]·jav["lan-punapa", "punapa", "punapa-"]·KO["그리고-무엇", "무엇-을", "무엇을", "무엇을-", "무엇이", "어째서"]·PT["Que", "e-o-que", "o-que", "que"]·RU["И-что", "что", "что-", "чём"]·ES["lo-que", "qué", "y-lo-que", "¿qué"]·SW["na-chochote", "nini"]·TR["Ve-ne", "ne", "ne-"]·urd["اور-جو", "کیا"]
2. how? (interrogative adverb of manner) — The adverbial 'how!' expressing manner or degree, formed with the prefix ke- (kemah). Spanish cuan ('how!') and German wie viel ('how much') capture the exclamatory force. Both occurrences appear in Nebuchadnezzar's doxology marveling at God's signs: 'How great are His signs! How mighty His wonders!' (Dan 4:3), where the particle intensifies rather than interrogates. 2×
AR["كَمْ"]·ben["কত"]·DE["wie-viel"]·EN["how"]·FR["comme-quoi?"]·heb["כמה"]·HI["कैसे"]·ID["betapa"]·IT["[כמה]"]·jav["pinten"]·KO["어찌"]·PT["quão"]·RU["как"]·ES["cuán"]·SW["jinsi-gani"]·TR["ne-kadar"]·urd["کتنی", "کتنے"]
3. why? (interrogative adverb of reason) — The causal interrogative 'why? / for what reason?', formed with the prefix le- (lemah). Spanish por que ('why') and German zu was ('to what end') reflect the causal function. Found in Ezra 4:22 warning officials not to be negligent — 'Why should damage grow?' — and in Ezra 7:23 reasoning about honoring God's house, where the question implies consequence rather than seeking information. 2×
AR["لِ-يَكُن", "لِمَاذَا"]·ben["কেন"]·DE["zu-was"]·EN["why"]·FR["[למה]"]·heb["למה"]·HI["क्यों"]·ID["mengapa"]·IT["a-che"]·jav["badhe-ageng", "kangge-punapa"]·KO["왜"]·PT["por-que"]·RU["почему"]·ES["por-qué", "¿por-qué"]·SW["kwa-nini"]·TR["neden"]·urd["لے-کیوں"]
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×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)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×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מָה (מָא †Ezr 6:8) pron. interr. and indef. what? (BH מָה; Nab. מה; Zinj. מ; 𝔗 מא; Syriac ܡܳܐ; Arabic مَا: cf. WCG 124 f.);— 1. what? Dn 4:32 מה עבדת. 2. whatever, what (cf. BH 1 b end) Dn 2:22 ידע מה בחשׁוכא knoweth what is in darkness, Ezr 6:9: so מָה דִּי (cf. דִּי 1 b: so Nab.; Palm. מא די, מדי, Lzb306 Cooke320, 332) Dn 2:28, 29(×2), 45; Ezr 6:8 למא די תעבדון with regard to what ye shall…