H5704 H5704
Until, as far as, unto, while, even; a preposition and conjunction of extent marking spatial, temporal, and scalar limits.
The Hebrew particle ad (עַד) draws a line — in space, in time, or in degree — and says 'this far.' It marks the endpoint of a journey ('as far as Haran'), the limit of a duration ('until morning'), or the extreme of a scale ('even to the sole of the foot'). In its poetic variant adei (עֲדֵי), it reaches for eternity in the phrase adei-ad, 'forevermore.' The rhetorical question ad-matay or ad-anah — 'how long?' — rings through the Psalms as the cry of the afflicted. Spanish 'hasta' and French 'jusqu'a' consistently capture the 'up to' directionality, while German 'bis' mirrors the boundary-marking function precisely.
4. perpetuity, ever — The substantival sense of 'perpetuity, eternity,' where ad functions as a noun rather than a preposition. Found in the poetic phrases la-ad (לָעַד, 'forever') and the intensified adei-ad (עֲדֵי־עַד, 'forevermore,' lit. 'perpetuity of perpetuity'). Psalm 92:7 declares the wicked flourish 'to be destroyed forever (adei-ad),' and Psalm 83:17 calls for shame 'forever (la-ad).' Spanish 'siempre' ('always/forever') and German 'bis' attempt to capture the eternal dimension. This rare nominal use (2 occurrences in the corpus) connects to the broader Semitic root sense of 'passing on' into endless duration. 2×
AR["الْأَبَدِ"]·ben["চিরকাল","চিরকালের-জন্য"]·DE["bis"]·EN["ever"]·FR["jusqu'à"]·heb["עד"]·HI["सदा"]·ID["selama-lamanya","selamanya"]·IT["per-sempre"]·jav["salaminipun"]·KO["영원히"]·PT["sempre"]·RU["вечно"]·ES["siempre"]·SW["milele"]·TR["sonsuza-dek"]·urd["ہمیشہ"]
▼ 4 more senses below
Senses
1. until, unto, as far as — The core prepositional sense of spatial or temporal extent: 'until, unto, as far as, up to.' This overwhelmingly dominant usage (1,238 occurrences) marks boundaries in both dimensions — 'until you return to the ground' (Gen 3:19), 'from man to beast' (Gen 6:7), 'as far as Sidon' (Gen 10:19). With conjunctive waw and pronominal suffixes it yields 'and-until,' 'unto-him,' etc. The cross-linguistic signatures are tightly consistent: Spanish 'hasta,' French 'jusqu'a,' German 'bis' — all boundary-marking prepositions. The spatial and temporal uses are syntactically identical, distinguished only by context. 1238×
AR["إلى","إِلَى","إِلَى-","حَتَّى","حَتَّى-","حَتّى"]·ben["-","অত্যন্ত","পর্যন্ত","পর্যন্ত-","যতক্ষণ-না","যতক্ষণ-না-","সেই-দিনের"]·DE["bis","bis-","noch-"]·EN["to","to-","until","until-","unto","unto-"]·FR["envers","envers-","jusqu'à","jusqu'à-","à","à-"]·heb["עד"]·HI["-तक","जब-तक","जब-तक-","तक","तक-","बुरे-तक"]·ID["sampai","sampai-"]·IT["a","a-","fino-a","fino-a-"]·jav["Ngantos","dumugi","dumugi-","ngantos","ngantos-","sanget"]·KO["~까지","까지","까지-"]·PT["Até-","até","até-","o-dia"]·RU["до","до-","пока","пока-","пока-не"]·ES["hasta","hasta-"]·SW["hadi","mpaka","mpaka-"]·TR["-a-kadar","-e-kadar","-e-kadar-","Kadar","kadar","Şur'a-kadar"]·urd["تک","جب-تک","حد"]
2. how long, until when — The interrogative-lament construction ad-matay (עַד־מָתַי) and ad-anah (עַד־אָנָה): 'how long? until when?' — a rhetorical formula expressing impatience, protest, or anguished appeal. Concentrated in the Psalms (4:2, 6:3, 13:1–2) and prophetic literature, this is the cry of the suffering righteous before God. The fourfold 'how long?' of Psalm 13:1–2 is among Scripture's most intense laments. Spanish 'Hasta' and French 'jusqu'a' maintain the 'until' base while the interrogative context transforms it. The 17 occurrences carry disproportionate theological and emotional weight. 17×
AR["إِلَى-","إِلَى-مَتَى","إِلَى-مَتَى-","إِلَيَّ","حتّى-","حَتَّى-","حَتّى-مَتى"]·ben["আমার-কাছে","এবং-তোলো","কত-","কত-কাল","কত-দিন","কতকাল-","কতক্ষণ-পর্যন্ত-","চিরকাল-পর্যন্ত-","পর্যন্ত-","যতক্ষণ-না-"]·DE["bis","bis-","zu-mich"]·EN["forever-","how-","to-me","until","until-","unto"]·FR["jusqu'à","à-moi"]·heb["עד","עד-"]·HI["कब-तक","कब-तक-","तक-","मेरी-ओर"]·ID["Sampai","Sampai-","kepadaku","sampai-"]·IT["a-me","per-sempre"]·jav["Dumugi-pundi","Kanggé","Ngantos","Ngantos-","Ngantos-pinten","Ngantos-pinten-dangu","dhateng-kula","ngantos-"]·KO["-까지","~까지","까지-","나-에게","언제-까지"]·PT["Até","Até-quando","a-mim","até","para"]·RU["до","до-","доколе-","мне"]·ES["Hasta","Hasta-","a-mí","hasta","¿Hasta-","¿hasta-"]·SW["Hadi","Hadi-lini","Mpaka","hadi","hata","kwangu"]·TR["bana","dek-","kadar-","ne-zamana-dek","ne-zamana-kadar-","sonsuza-dek"]·urd["-تک","تَک-","تک","عَد","میری-طرف"]
3. while, during — The conjunctive-temporal sense: 'while, during, as long as,' indicating simultaneous duration rather than an endpoint. Ehud escaped 'while' the servants delayed (Judg 3:26), the priest inquired 'while' the noise grew (1 Sam 14:19), and Job receives news 'while' the previous messenger still speaks (Job 1:18). French renders 'pendant-que' and German 'waehrend,' both clearly durational rather than limitative. Only 5 occurrences, but the shift from boundary-marking to duration-marking is a genuine semantic distinction. 5×
AR["أَثْناءَ","بَيْنَما","حَتَّى","ما-دامَتْ","وَبَيْنَما"]·ben["পর্যন্ত","পর্যন্ত-","যখন","যতক্ষণ"]·DE["bis","waehrend","waehrend-"]·EN["while","while-"]·FR["jusqu'à","pendant-que","pendant-que-","à-cause-de"]·heb["ב-עוד","עד","עד-"]·HI["अद-","जब-तक","तक","में-जब-तक"]·ID["Sementara","sampai-","sementara"]·IT["fino-a","mentre","mentre-","per"]·jav["nalika","nganti-","salaminipun","taksih"]·KO["-까지","-아직","동안","동안에","아직"]·PT["até","enquanto"]·RU["пока","пока-"]·ES["Mientras","hasta","mientras"]·SW["hadi-","wakati"]·TR["-iken","henüz","iken","kadar","sürerken"]·urd["ابھی","تک","جب-تک","جب-تک-"]
5. even, as much as — The emphatic-scalar adverb: 'even, as much as,' intensifying a statement to include an extreme or unexpected element. In Deuteronomy 2:5 God warns Israel regarding Esau's territory: 'I will not give you of their land, not even (ad) the treading of the sole of a foot.' The scalar force pushes 'until' into 'even as much as,' indicating the absolute minimum that is still denied. French 'même' and German 'sogar' both render the emphatic particle, while Spanish 'ni' ('not even') captures the negative-scalar nuance. Only 1 clear occurrence, but it demonstrates the full elasticity of this boundary-marking particle. 1×
AR["حَتَّى"]·ben["পর্যন্ত"]·DE["sogar"]·EN["even"]·FR["même"]·heb["עד"]·HI["भी"]·ID["sampai"]·IT["anche"]·jav["malah"]·KO["까지"]·PT["até"]·RU["даже"]·ES["ni"]·SW["hata"]·TR["-e-kadar"]·urd["تک"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
III. עַד in poetry עֲדֵי (†Nu 24:20, 24 ψ 104:23; 147:6; Jb 7:4; 20:5, and in עֲדֵי עַד Is 26:4; 65:18 ψ 83:18; 92:8; 132:12, 14: cf. אֱלֵי, עֲלֵי), prep. as far as, even to, up to, until, while (Aramaic עד, ܥܕ; Sab. עד, עדי, MordtmZMG xxx (1876), 27; DHMxxxvii (1883), 414, Assyrian adi Dl§ 81 a (Arabic عَدَا is except); perhaps akin to عَدَا pass on, advance to, Köii. 304, 309: עֲדֵי prob. from…