מָחָר52 H4279
Tomorrow, the next day; also used idiomatically for 'in time to come' or 'in the future.'
A temporal adverb meaning 'tomorrow' or 'the following day,' probably derived from a root meaning 'front' or 'what is ahead.' It appears in vivid narrative moments: Moses tells Pharaoh the plague will come 'tomorrow' (Exod 8:23; 9:5, 18), Saul will meet Samuel 'about this time tomorrow' (1 Sam 9:16), and Jonathan warns David that 'tomorrow is the new moon' (1 Sam 20:5, 18). The idiomatic phrase machar or le-machar also extends to the indefinite future: 'when your children ask tomorrow' means 'in time to come' (Josh 4:6, 21; 22:24, 27-28). Proverbs 27:1 warns against boasting about tomorrow, since no one knows what a day may bring. Spanish manana, French demain, and German morgen all share this dual sense of the literal next day and an open future.
Senses
1. tomorrow (temporal adverb) — Tomorrow or the next day, used both as a concrete time reference and in the idiomatic sense of 'in the future, in time to come.' Moses repeatedly announces plagues for 'tomorrow' (Exod 8:23; 9:5, 18), while Joshua uses it to mean 'when future generations ask' (Josh 4:6, 21; 22:24). The construction ka'et machar ('about this time tomorrow') adds temporal precision in royal and prophetic speech (1 Sam 9:16; 1 Kgs 19:2; 20:6). Proverbs 27:1 deploys it for its philosophical weight: do not boast about tomorrow. Spanish manana and French demain preserve the same dual literal-and-figurative range. 52×
AR["غَداً", "غَدًا", "غَدٍ"]·ben["আগামীকাল", "আগামীকাল।", "আগামীকালের"]·DE["morgen"]·EN["tomorrow"]·FR["demain"]·heb["ל-מחר", "מחר"]·HI["कल"]·ID["Besok", "besok", "esok", "kelak"]·IT["domani", "tomorrow"]·jav["benjang", "benjing", "bènjing", "kangge-bènjing", "mbenjang", "mbenjang.", "mbénjing"]·KO["내일", "내일의", "내일이라"]·PT["Amanhã", "amanhã", "amanhã;"]·RU["Завтра", "завтра", "завтрашний"]·ES["Mañana", "mañana"]·SW["kesho", "ya-kesho"]·TR["yarın"]·urd["کل"]
Gen 30:33, Exod 8:10, Exod 8:23, Exod 8:29, Exod 9:5, Exod 9:18, Exod 10:4, Exod 13:14, Exod 16:23, Exod 17:9, Exod 19:10, Exod 32:5 (+38 more)
Related Senses
H3117 1. day, specific time (2231×)H5704 1. until, unto, as far as (1238×)H8141 1. year, unit of time (880×)H6258 1. and now (421×)G2250 1. day (388×)H5750 1. again, more, further (288×)H5769 1. forever, to eternity (280×)H6256 1. time, period (264×)H2320 1. month, calendar period (260×)H0310a 2. after (temporal) (258×)H3915 1. night, period of darkness (234×)H1242 1. morning (214×)H5750 2. still, yet (continuative) (166×)G5119 1. then (160×)G3568 1. now (147×)G2193 1. until (143×)G3825 1. (141×)G3752 1. (123×)H6153 1. evening, time of day (123×)H0227a 1. then (122×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
מָחָר52 n.m., used often as adv., to-morrow, in time to come (Aramaic מְחַר, ܡܚܰܪ; prob. properly time in front, Köii. 263, cf. √, and Assyrian maḫru, front, often of time, though always of former time, of old, DlHWB 402):— 1. to-morrow (the day following the present day), a. as subst. Ex 16:23 שַׁבָּתוֹן שַׁבַּת קֹדֶשׁ לְי׳ מָחָר to-morrow is a sabbath, etc., 1 S 20:5 חֹדֶשׁ מָחָר to-morrow is…