H4616 H4616
For the sake of, in order that; a preposition-conjunction expressing purpose, cause, or the beneficiary of an action.
A remarkably versatile function word, lemaan bridges purpose and cause in ways that keep translators on their toes. When God says he hardened Pharaoh's heart 'lemaan I may show these signs' (Exod 10:1), the meaning is clearly purposive — 'in order that.' But when Abraham pleads 'for the sake of fifty righteous' (Gen 18:24), the same word expresses beneficiary-cause — 'because of, on account of.' Many occurrences sit at the boundary between these two readings, especially in prophetic oracles. French afin que (purpose) versus a cause de (cause), and German damit versus um...willen, show how European languages split what Hebrew unifies in a single particle.
3. for sake of / in order that (ambiguous) — Ambiguous purpose-cause overlap (11x), where both purposive and causal readings are simultaneously valid and translators must choose. Ezekiel 21:10–15 is the key cluster: the sword is sharpened 'lemaan it may slaughter' — is this 'so that' (purpose) or 'because of' (the slaughter that motivated the sharpening)? The prophetic rhetoric deliberately exploits this ambiguity. French afin que and German um willen appear interchangeably in these contexts. Ezekiel 22:6 uses it similarly for the princes of Israel who shed blood — the lemaan clause hovers between motivation and result. 11×
AR["لِأَجْلِ","لِكَيْ-"]·ben["জন্য","জন্যে"]·DE["um-willen"]·EN["for-sake-of","for-sake-of-","in-order-that","in-order-that-","in-order-to","so-that"]·FR["afin-que"]·heb["ל-מען","ל-מען־"]·HI["के-लिए","के-लिए-","ताकि"]·ID["supaya","untuk"]·IT["per-amor-di"]·jav["Supados","supados","supados-"]·KO["-위하여","-위하여-","~을-위함이라"]·PT["Para","para","para-que","por-causa-de"]·RU["в-тебе","для-убийства","его","молния","твои","чтобы","чтобы-губить"]·ES["Para","para","para-que","por","por-causa-de"]·SW["ili","kwa-ajili-ya","kwa-sababu-ya"]·TR["-için","için"]·urd["تاکہ","تاکہ-","خاطر"]
Ezek 21:10, Ezek 21:10, Ezek 21:15, Ezek 21:28, Ezek 22:6, Ezek 22:9, Ezek 22:12, Ezek 22:27, Ezek 23:21, Ezek 24:11, Zech 13:4
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
1. purpose: so that, in order that — Purpose or result: 'so that, in order that' (196x). Introduces a clause expressing the intended goal or expected outcome of the action in the main clause. Genesis 12:13 — 'Say you are my sister, so that (lemaan) it may go well with me.' Genesis 18:19 — God chose Abraham 'in order that (lemaan) he may command his children.' Spanish para que, French afin que, and German damit all consistently mark the purposive reading. This is the most frequent function and the one closest to a pure conjunction. 196×
AR["لِ-أَجْلِ","لِ-كَي","لِكَي","لِكَيْ"]·ben["-জন্যে","জন্য","যাতে","যেন"]·DE["damit","damit-","fuer-sake-von","so-jenes"]·EN["for-sake-of","in-order-that","so-that"]·FR["ainsi-ce","dans-order-ce","pour-cause-de"]·heb["ל-מען","למען"]·HI["इसलिए-कि","तअकि","ताकि"]·ID["Supaya","supaya"]·IT["affinche","affinché","in-order-quello","per-sake-di"]·jav["supados"]·KO["-위해서","~을-위하여","위하여","위해서","위해서-"]·PT["Para-que","para","para-que"]·RU["чтобы"]·ES["Para-que","para","para-que"]·SW["Ili","ili","ili-kwamba"]·TR["amacıyla","bunun-için","böylece","için","için-ki","öyle-ki"]·urd["تاکہ"]
2. for the sake of, because of — Cause or beneficiary: 'for the sake of, because of, on account of' (65x). Prepositional use with pronominal suffixes or noun phrases specifying the person or cause motivating an action. Genesis 18:24 — 'Will you sweep away the place and not spare it for the sake of (lemaan) the fifty righteous?' 1 Kings 11:12–13 — 'for the sake of David your father... for the sake of Jerusalem.' Spanish por causa de, French pour cause de / a cause de, and German um...willen capture the causal-benefactive force. Often appears in divine speech explaining why God acts or refrains from acting. 65×
AR["لِ-أَجْلِ","لِأَجْلِ","لِـ-أَجْلِ","مِنْ-أَجْلِ"]·ben["-কারণে","-জন্য","-জন্যে","কারণে","জন্য","জন্য-","জন্যে-"]·DE["fuer-sake-von","um-","um-willen"]·EN["For-the-sake-of","for-sake-of","for-the-sake-of"]·FR["afin-que","pour-cause-de","à-cause-de"]·heb["ל-מען","למען"]·HI["करन","कारण-","कारण-से","के-कारण","के-लिए","लमअन"]·ID["Demi","demi","karena","oleh-karena","supaya"]·IT["affinché","per-amor-di","per-causa-di","per-sake-di"]·jav["Amargi","Kangge-","Kanggé","amargi","dèmi","kangge-","kanggé","kanggé-","supados"]·KO["-을-위하여","-을-위해","~때문에","위하여","위하여-","위해서","위해서-","을-위하여"]·PT["Por-amor-de","Por-causa-de","para-que","por-amor-de","por-causa-de"]·RU["ради","ради-"]·ES["Por-causa-de","para-que","por-causa-de"]·SW["Kwa-ajili-ya","ili","jina-lako","kwa-ajili-ya","kwa-ajili-ya-","kwa-sababu-ya"]·TR["Icin","Ugruna-","icin","için","olması-için","ugruna-","uğruna"]·urd["خاطر","کی-خاطر","کے-سبب"]
Gen 18:24, 1 Kgs 8:41, 1 Kgs 11:12, 1 Kgs 11:13, 1 Kgs 11:13, 1 Kgs 11:32, 1 Kgs 11:32, 1 Kgs 11:34, 1 Kgs 11:36, 1 Kgs 11:39, 1 Kgs 15:4, 2 Kgs 8:19 (+38 more)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מַעֲנֶה n.m. Pr 15:1 answer, response;—abs. מ׳־רַךְ Pr 15:1 a gentle answer; cstr. מַעֲנֵה פִּיו v 23, cf. מ׳ לָשׁוֹן 16:1 (i.e. ability to answer); מ׳ אֱלֹהִים Mi 3:7 i.e. response for guidance; abs. also Pr 29:19 response = obedience; Jb 32:3, 5 reply, refutation; sf. לַמַּעֲנֵהוּ Pr 16:4 = for its purpose, that for which it answers (v. Toy).