Hinneh “behold” הִנֵּה hinneh
הִנֵּה (hinneh) says “look!” and draws the hearer’s eyes to something. It is not a verb, so it does not change form; standing first, it points to the whole clause after it. In speech it makes declarations (“behold, I have given”); in narrative, as וְהִנֵּה, it shows a scene through the eyes of the person who saw it. This page shows each use in clauses actually found in the Bible.
“behold, here is” — short form הֵן
Colour key blue = added at the front · orange = added at the end · purple = a mark inside (dot · doubled letter · changed vowel) · underline = the word this page is about
1What הִנֵּה is
הִנֵּה (hinneh) is a small word that draws the hearer’s or reader’s eyes and attention to something. English Bibles have long rendered it “behold”; it can also mean “look,” “here is,” or, with “me,” “here I am.”
It is not a verb. It is not from the root of “see” (רָאָה ra’ah), and it is not an imperative. It has no endings for “who” or “when”; it stands at the head of a clause and simply points to the whole clause that follows. Grammars therefore call it a presentative — a word that “presents.” The OSHB morphology tags it as a demonstrative particle (a pointing word that does not change form).
It is very common. In the OSHB this word alone (lexicon number 2009) occurs 843 times, and the short form הֵן (hen) is frequent too. Genesis 1–2 has it twice: 1:29, inside God’s words, הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי (behold, I have given), and 1:31, in the narrative, וְהִנֵּה־טוֹב מְאֹד (and behold, it was very good).
2The name — הִנֵּה hinneh · short form הֵן hen
הִנֵּה is ה (hireq, “i”) + a dotted נּ (tsere, “e”) + a final ה, read “hinneh.” The dot in נּ means the נ is doubled, so it is “hin-neh,” not “hi-neh.” The final ה is a silent vowel letter.
The short form הֵן (hen) is used with the same meaning (Gen 3:22). It has no final ה and its vowel is “e.”
Grammars call it hinneh (hinnēh), the “presentative particle”; older books call it “the interjection behold.”
3At a glance — five shapes of הִנֵּה
- Alone, first in the clauseהִנֵּה (hinneh) — “behold” in speech. 1:29 הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי.
- With וְ in frontוְהִנֵּה (vehinneh) — “and behold” in narrative, mostly after “he saw, he dreamed, he lifted his eyes.” 1:31.
- With נָא after itהִנֵּה־נָא (hinneh-na) — “look, please.” נָא is a small word of gentle request (Gen 12:11).
- With a suffix at the endהִנֵּנִי (me) · הִנְּךָ (you) · הִנָּם (them) — “behold, I / you / they ….” “Here I am” is this form (Gen 22:1).
- Short formהֵן (hen) — same meaning (Gen 3:22).
4הִנֵּה + pronoun suffixes — “behold, I / you …”
הִנֵּה is not a verb, but it can take a suffix meaning “who.” Then “behold” and the subject of the clause become one word. Only forms actually found in the Old Testament (OSHB) are listed. The orange letters at the end tell “who.”
| Who | Form | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| I (1cs) | הִנְנִי · הִנֵּנִי · הִנֶּנִּי | hinni · hinneni · hinnenni | behold, I · here I am |
| you (2ms) | הִנְּךָ | hinnekha | behold, you |
| you (2fs) | הִנָּךְ | hinnakh | behold, you (f) |
| he (3ms) | הִנּוֹ | hinno | behold, he |
| we (1cp) | הִנֶּנּוּ · הִנֵּנוּ | hinnennu · hinnenu | behold, we · here we are |
| you (2mp) | הִנְּכֶם | hinnekhem | behold, you (pl) |
| they (3mp) | הִנָּם | hinnam | behold, they |
The 1st singular has three shapes; in the OSHB הִנְנִי occurs 159 times, הִנֵּנִי 14, הִנֶּנִּי 2. In Genesis every “here I am” answering a call is הִנֵּנִי or הִנֶּנִּי (22:1, 7, 11 and others), while “behold, I am about to …” before a participle is הִנְנִי (6:17, 41:17, 48:4). The suffix letters are the same as those on nouns and prepositions.
5הִנֵּה + perfect in speech — “behold, I have … (it is now settled)”
Used when a speaker settles something at the moment of speaking, or sets out what he has just come to know. The perfect presents an act as complete, so with הִנֵּה it means “as I speak, it is settled.”
hinneh natatti — behold, I have given
הִנֵּה (behold) + the perfect נָתַתִּי. The ending תִּי (-ti) = “I.” Inside speech, a perfect after הִנֵּה does not narrate a past event; it settles and hands over something at the moment of speaking — a declaration: “Behold, I (now) have given you ….” It is the only 1st singular perfect in Genesis 1–2.
YLVAnd God said, "Behold, I have given to you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.
hinneh-na yada‘ti — behold, I know
הִנֵּה + נָא (please, now) + the perfect יָדַעְתִּי (I have come to know → I know). Abram speaks to Sarai. הִנֵּה draws the hearer to what is about to be said, and כִּי then gives what he knows (“that you are a woman beautiful to look at”).
YLVAnd it came to pass, when he had come near to enter Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife (ishah): "Behold now, I know that you are a woman (ishah) beautiful of appearance.
hen ha’adam hayah — behold, the man has become
הֵן is the short form of הִנֵּה, with the same meaning (“behold”). The subject הָאָדָם is placed first, then the perfect הָיָה (has become). In speech, הֵן + perfect sets out the situation as it now stands, and because of it the next words follow: “and now, lest …” (וְעַתָּה פֶּן).
YLVAnd YHWH God said, "Behold, Adam has become like one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life (chai), and eat, and live forever—"
6הִנֵּה + participle — “behold, … is doing / is about to do”
A participle (“…ing”) has no fixed time. הִנֵּה pulls it into “right now / just ahead,” so the clause tells what is happening now or is about to happen.
va’ani hinni mevi — and I, behold, I am bringing
וַאֲנִי (and I) + הִנְנִי (הִנֵּה + the ending נִי “me”) + the participle מֵבִיא (bringing, Hiphil participle). הִנֵּה + participle presents what is about to happen: “I am now about to bring the flood.” The suffix on הִנֵּה tells “who”; the participle itself has no person.
YLVAnd I, behold, I am bringing the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh (basar) in which is the spirit (ruach) of life (chai) from under the heavens; everything that is in the earth shall expire.
hinneh ’anokhi nitsav — behold, I am standing
הִנֵּה + the pronoun אָנֹכִי (I) + the Niphal participle נִצָּב (standing). Here a separate pronoun follows הִנֵּה instead of a suffix. Abraham’s servant, praying, sets before God where he is right now — a verbless clause: “behold, I — standing.”
YLVBehold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men (ish) of the city are coming out to draw water;
hinni mafrekha — behold, I will make you fruitful
הִנְנִי (behold, I) + the Hiphil participle מַפְרְךָ (making you fruitful), with ךָ (you) on the participle. Jacob is repeating God’s promise. A weqatal וְהִרְבִּיתִךָ (and I will multiply you) follows, unfolding the future that הִנֵּה + participle has opened.
YLVand said to me, 'Behold, I am making you fruitful, and I will multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples; and I will give this land to your seed after you for an everlasting possession.'
7וְהִנֵּה in narrative — “he looked, and behold …”
In narrative, וְהִנֵּה makes us see through the eyes of the person in the scene, not the narrator’s. It usually follows a wayyiqtol such as “he saw” or “he dreamed,” and what follows is a verbless clause, a participle, or a perfect — never a wayyiqtol.
vehinneh-tov me’od — and behold, very good
וְהִנֵּה (and behold) + the verbless clause טוֹב מְאֹד (very good). Before it stands וַיַּרְא (and he saw). In 1:4–25 “he saw” was followed by כִּי טוֹב (that it was good); here וְהִנֵּה replaces כִּי and shows the scene through the eyes of the one who saw. This is הִנֵּה inside narrative.
YLVAnd God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
vayyar vehinneh ḥarevu pene ha’adamah — and he looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dried
The wayyiqtol וַיַּרְא (and he saw) + וְהִנֵּה + the perfect חָרְבוּ (had dried). The story moves one step with וַיַּרְא; after וְהִנֵּה comes what Noah saw when he removed the cover. The verb after הִנֵּה is a perfect, not a wayyiqtol — it is not a new event but the state things were already in.
YLVAnd it came to pass, in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, that the waters were dried from upon the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground (adamah) was dried.
vayyar vehinneh sheloshah ’anashim nitsavim — and he looked, and behold, three men standing
וַיַּרְא + וְהִנֵּה + the subject שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים (three men) + the participle נִצָּבִים (standing). The participle paints an ongoing scene. We see what Abraham saw when he lifted his eyes, at his eye level.
YLVAnd he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men (ish) were standing over against him; and he saw, and ran to meet them from the opening of the tent, and bowed himself to the earth,
vayyaḥalom vehinneh sullam mutsav ’artsah — and he dreamed, and behold, a ladder set up on the earth
וַיַּחֲלֹם (and he dreamed) + וְהִנֵּה + סֻלָּם (a ladder) + the Hophal participle מֻצָּב (set up). In a dream report וְהִנֵּה likewise opens “what was seen in the dream.” The verse has וְהִנֵּה twice (the ladder · the messengers of God), presenting each thing seen in turn.
YLVAnd he dreamed, and behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and its top reaching to the heavens; and behold, the messengers of God ascending and descending on it.
vayehi vabboqer vehinneh-hi le’ah — and in the morning, behold, she was Leah
וַיְהִי בַבֹּקֶר (and it was morning) + וְהִנֵּה + the verbless clause הִוא לֵאָה (she — Leah). Even without a verb “see,” וְהִנֵּה shows what Jacob discovered in the morning, through his eyes; the surprise rests on this one word.
YLVAnd it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah; and he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve (avad) with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?"
8“Here I am” · “here is” — הִנֵּה with no verb
When no verb follows, “behold, this” simply means “here it is.” With a suffix, “behold me” = “here I am.”
hinneni — here I am
הִנֵּ (הִנֵּה without its final ה) + the ending נִי (me). “Behold me” → “Here I am.” When God calls “Abraham,” he answers with this one word, presenting himself: “I am listening, I am ready.”
YLVAnd it came to pass after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham"; and he said, "Here am I."
hinnenni veni — here I am, my son
The same “here I am,” written הִנֶּנִּי — with an extra dot in נ and the vowel ֶ (e). Isaac calls “my father,” and Abraham answers. Later in the verse Isaac says הִנֵּה הָאֵשׁ וְהָעֵצִים (here are the fire and the wood).
YLVAnd Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, "My father." And he said, "Here am I, my son." And he said, "Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
hinneh ha’esh veha‘etsim — behold, the fire and the wood
הִנֵּה + two nouns. There is no verb, yet the sentence is complete: “behold, the fire and the wood (are here).” Because הִנֵּה points to what is in view, it means “here is” without any word for “is.” The question וְאַיֵּה הַשֶּׂה (but where is the lamb?) follows at once, setting what is there against what is missing.
YLVAnd Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, "My father." And he said, "Here am I, my son." And he said, "Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
’ani hinneh veriti ’ittakh — as for me, behold, my covenant is with you
The pronoun אֲנִי (I) is placed first, then הִנֵּה + בְרִיתִי (my covenant — the ending תִי is “my”) + אִתָּךְ (with you). A verbless clause: הִנֵּה sets before him the covenant now being made.
YLV"As for me, behold, my covenant (berit) is with you, and you shall become a father of a multitude of nations.
9Why it works this way — four things הִנֵּה does
- 1. It points from outside the clauseהִנֵּה is neither subject nor verb. Standing first, it says “look at this” and points to the whole clause after it. Remove it and the clause is still a sentence (טוֹב מְאֹד “very good”).
- 2. It does not change the verb form after itThe clause after הִנֵּה follows the usual rules: a completed act is a perfect (נָתַתִּי), an ongoing one a participle (נִצָּבִים), and with no verb it is a verbless clause (טוֹב מְאֹד).
- 3. No wayyiqtol follows itA wayyiqtol, with its וַ, can stand only first in its clause. Since הִנֵּה already stands first, no wayyiqtol can follow. So what follows וְהִנֵּה is not the next event but the scene that was seen (Gen 8:13, perfect חָרְבוּ).
- 4. It sets whose eyes we see withIn speech, the speaker tells the hearer “look” (1:29). In narrative, it shows what a character saw, through that character’s eyes (1:31, what God saw · 18:2, what Abraham saw).
10Meanings and uses
(1) Declaring, handing over — הִנֵּה + perfect in speech: “behold, I have given” (1:29 הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי); “behold, I know” (12:11 הִנֵּה־נָא יָדַעְתִּי).
(2) What is happening or about to happen — הִנֵּה + participle: “behold, I am bringing the flood” (6:17 הִנְנִי מֵבִיא).
(3) The scene a character saw — וְהִנֵּה in narrative: “he saw …, and behold, it was very good” (1:31); “he looked, and behold, three men standing” (18:2); a dream scene (28:12).
(4) Here it is · here I am — הִנֵּה + noun, or with a suffix: “here are the fire and the wood” (22:7); הִנֵּנִי (22:1).
(5) The situation behind what follows — הִנֵּה / הֵן in speech sets out how things stand, and the next words follow from it (3:22 הֵן הָאָדָם הָיָה … וְעַתָּה פֶּן).
In translation it is best not to drop הִנֵּה. The YLV renders 1:29 and 1:31 with “Behold … behold.” Without the word, the reader loses whose eyes the scene is seen through.
11In Genesis 1–2 — two places
1:29 וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם — after the wayyiqtol “and God said,” the first clause of the speech is הִנֵּה + perfect (pattern 19 on the Genesis 1 pages). Verse 30 carries this נָתַתִּי on without a verb of its own.
1:31 וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְהִנֵּה־טוֹב מְאֹד — instead of “he saw + כִּי טוֹב” (1:4–25), “he saw + וְהִנֵּה + a verbless clause.” What he saw is “all” (כָּל), and “very” (מְאֹד) is added.
The two stand side by side: God says “behold” as he gives food, and then the narrative shows with “behold” what God saw.
12Easy to confuse
הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold”) and הֵנָּה (henna, “here, hither”) are different words. הֵנָּה has “e” as its first vowel and the dot in נּ; it is an adverb of direction, as in “come here” — Gen 42:15 בְּבוֹא אֲחִיכֶם הַקָּטֹן הֵנָּה (when your youngest brother comes here).
הִנֵּה is not the verb “see.” The imperative “see!” is רְאֵה (re’eh), from רָאָה. הִנֵּה points rather than commands, so it does not change for who or how many are addressed (it is הִנֵּה even to a crowd).
The וְ of וְהִנֵּה is not the וַ of a wayyiqtol. וְ (shewa, “ve”) is just “and,” and what follows is a scene, not an event.
Do not confuse the short form הֵן with the pronoun הֵן (they, feminine). The letters are the same, but standing first and pointing to the clause after it, it means “behold” (Gen 3:22).