עַתָּ֫ה435 H6258
Now -- a temporal adverb marking the present moment, often in the transitional phrase 'and now' or in 'from now on.'
Attah is the Hebrew Bible's primary adverb for the present moment, appearing over 430 times. Its most characteristic use is the transitional formula we'attah ('and now'), which pivots discourse from narrative background or past events to present implication or command: 'And now, behold your wife' (Gen 12:19), 'And now, Israel, what does the LORD require of you?' (Deut 10:12). A smaller but theologically significant pattern is me'attah ('from now'), expressing duration from the present into the indefinite future, as in the doxological 'from this time forth and forevermore' (Ps 113:2; 115:18; 121:8).
Senses
1. and now — The present temporal adverb 'now,' overwhelmingly appearing in the discourse formula we'attah ('and now') to mark a transition from past narration or situation to present action, command, or conclusion. With 421 occurrences this is the dominant pattern, spanning every genre: patriarchal dialogue (Gen 12:19), covenant stipulations (Gen 20:7, 'now return the man's wife'), prophetic indictment (Isa 1:21, 'but now murderers'), and royal speech (1 Kgs 12:4). All languages render it with their standard temporal marker: spa 'y-ahora,' fra 'et-maintenant,' deu 'und-nun.' 421×
AR["وَ-الآنَ","وَ-الْآنَ","وَالآنَ"]·ben["আর-এখন","এবং-এখন","ও-এখন"]·DE["und-nun","und-nun-"]·EN["And-now","and-now"]·FR["Et-maintenant","et-maintenant"]·heb["ו-עתה"]·HI["और-अब"]·ID["Dan-sekarang","dan-sekarang","maka-sekarang"]·IT["And-ora","e-ora"]·jav["Lan-sapunika","lan-sapunika"]·KO["그리고-이제"]·PT["E-agora","e-agora"]·RU["И-теперь","и-ныне","и-теперь"]·ES["Y-ahora","y-ahora"]·SW["Na-sasa","na-kuwa","na-sasa"]·TR["Ve-şimdi","ve-şimdi"]·urd["اور-اب"]
2. from now — The temporal phrase me'attah ('from now, henceforth'), expressing duration from the present moment into the future. With 13 occurrences this sense is concentrated in liturgical and wisdom literature, especially the formulaic 'from this time forth and forevermore' (Ps 113:2; 115:18; 121:8; 125:2). The prepositional prefix min- ('from') shifts attah from punctual 'now' to inceptive 'from now on.' Cross-linguistic evidence confirms the distinction: spa 'desde-ahora,' deu 'von-nun,' both adding directional markers absent from the bare 'now' form. 13×
AR["مِنَ-الآن","مِنَ-الآنَ","مِنَ-الْآنَ"]·ben["-এখন-থেকে","এখন-থেকে"]·DE["von-nun"]·EN["from-now","than-now"]·FR["de-maintenant","von-maintenant"]·heb["מ-עתה"]·HI["अब-से"]·ID["dari-sekarang","daripada-sekarang","mulai-sekarang","sejak-sekarang","sekarang"]·IT["da-ora"]·jav["saking-samangke","saking-samangké","saking-samenika","saking-sapunika","wiwit-samenika"]·KO["부터-이제","에서-이제","에서-지금-보다","에서-지금부터","이때부터","이제-부터","이제부터","지금부터","지금부터-"]·PT["de-agora","desde-agora","do-que-agora"]·RU["от-ныне","отныне","с-тех-пор","чем-теперь"]·ES["desde-ahora","que-ahora"]·SW["kuanzia-sasa","kuliko-sasa","kutoka-sasa","sasa-hivi","tangu-sasa"]·TR["simdi-den","simdiden","şimdi-den","şimdiden"]·urd["اب-سے"]
Related Senses
H3117 1. day, specific time (2231×)H5704 1. until, unto, as far as (1238×)H8141 1. year, unit of time (880×)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×)G5610 1. hour / time / moment (106×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
עַתָּ֫ה435 (also Ez 23:43 ψ 74:6 עת Kt, Qr עַתָּה), עָ֑֫תָּה Gn 32:5 +, adv. of time, now (proposes acc. of [’int], עֵת (Köii. 260), at the time, in partic. of the present time, i.e. now; cf. Germ. zur Zeit, Arabic اَلْآنَ at the time, i.e. now);—now: 1. a. Gn 12:19 ועתה הנה אשׁתך and now, behold thy wife, 22:12 כי עתה ידעתי now I know (so Ex 18:11; Ju 17:13; 1 K 17:24 [עַתָּה זֶה], ψ 20:7),…