Negation לֹא · אַל · אֵין · בַּל lo’ · ’al · ’en · bal
Hebrew says “not,” “do not,” and “there is no” by placing one word in front. There are four such words — לֹא (lo’), אַל (’al), אֵין (’en) and בַּל (bal). They are not interchangeable: which one is used depends on what is negated and which verb form follows. This page shows the four one by one, in sentences actually used in Genesis.
negation is called שְׁלִילָה (shelilah) in modern Hebrew grammar
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 negation is — four words
Negation turns what a sentence or word says into “not.” Hebrew places a negative word directly before what it negates.
The most frequent in the Old Testament is לֹא, 5,191 times. אַל occurs 725 times, אֵין (independent form אַיִן) 790 times, and בַּל, mainly in poetry, 72 times (counted by lemma in the OSHB). Genesis 1–2 has לֹא five times (2:5, 17, 18, 20, 25) and אַיִן once (2:5).
Grammars speak of negation and negative particles.
2Where the names come from — what the four words mean
לֹא (lo’) is “not.” It is the broadest, negating perfect and imperfect verbs and also single adjectives or nouns. It is usually spelled לֹא, sometimes לוֹא (as in the question הֲלוֹא, 4:7).
אַל (’al) is “do not, may it not.” It is used only before forms of wish and command (jussive, cohortative) and expresses what is not wanted.
אַיִן (’ayin) is originally a noun-like word, “nothing, non-existence.” When another word follows, it shortens to אֵין (’en, the construct). Meaning “there is not,” it is the partner of יֵשׁ (“there is”; see the page on yesh and ein).
בַּל (bal) is a “not” found mainly in poetry — Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah — the counterpart of prose לֹא. Modern Hebrew grammar calls negation as a whole שְׁלִילָה (shelilah).
3At a glance — what is negated → which word
- An event, past or futureלֹא + perfect or imperfect — כִּי לֹא הִמְטִיר (2:5, “he had not caused it to rain”).
- “You shall not …”לֹא + 2nd-person imperfect — לֹא תֹאכַל (2:17).
- “Do not (now) …,” “may it not …”אַל + jussive — אַל־תִּירָא (15:1, “fear not”).
- “There is no …” · negating a participleאֵין · אַיִן — וְאָדָם אַיִן (2:5, “there was no man”).
- “Not” in poetryבַּל — בַּל־אֶמּוֹט (Ps 16:8, “I shall not be moved”).
- A single wordלֹא + adjective or noun — לֹא־טוֹב (2:18, “not good”).
4The four negatives — what follows and what they do
| Negative | Reading | What follows | What it does | In the OT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא | lo’ | perfect · imperfect · adjective · noun · infinitive absolute | denies a fact · firm prohibition · negates a word | 5,191 times |
| אַל | ’al | jussive · cohortative (wishes in 2nd, 3rd, 1st person) | prohibition · what is not wished | 725 times |
| אֵין · אַיִן | ’en · ’ayin | noun · participle · prepositional phrase · suffix | denies existence, “there is not” · negates a participle | 790 times |
| בַּל | bal | imperfect · perfect (poetry) | “not” in poetry | 72 times |
Counts are by OSHB lemma, including forms with וְ (“and”) or הֲ (question) attached, such as וְלֹא and הֲלוֹא.
5לֹא + perfect — what did not happen (real examples from the Bible)
It denies a past event in narrative or speech. Since לֹא stands before the verb, no wayyiqtol is possible; the verb is a perfect.
ki lo’ himtir — for (YHWH God) had not caused it to rain
כִּי (because) + לֹא (not) + the Hiphil perfect הִמְטִיר (“caused it to rain”). With לֹא before the verb, it cannot be a wayyiqtol and is a perfect — the place the Genesis 2 page explains as “the same rule as pattern 2 (X + perfect).”
YLVAnd every shrub of the field was not yet in the earth, and every herb of the field had not yet sprouted, for YHWH God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man (adam) to work (avad) the ground (adamah).
lo’-matsa’ ‘ezer kenegdo — he did not find a helper as his counterpart
לֹא + the Qal perfect מָצָא (“found”), joined by a maqqef (־) into one unit. English “did not find” is enough; Hebrew לֹא does not distinguish “would not” from “could not” — context decides.
YLVAnd Adam called names to all the cattle and to the bird of the heavens and to every living thing (chai) of the field; but for Adam he did not find a helper as his counterpart.
lo’ yada‘ti — I do not know
לֹא + the perfect יָדַעְתִּי (the ending תִּי, orange, = “I”). The perfect of “know” often states a present state, so לֹא יָדַעְתִּי is “I do not know” (so YLV). A perfect is not always past.
YLVAnd YHWH said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"
6לֹא + imperfect — prohibition, or what does not happen (real examples from the Bible)
Spoken to the hearer (2nd person) it is a prohibition; in narrative, in the 3rd person, it is “did not / does not.”
lo’ to’khal mimmennu — you shall not eat of it
לֹא + the 2nd masculine singular imperfect תֹאכַל (prefix ת = “you”). The permission תֹּאכֵל (“you shall eat”) in 2:16 is the same verb, person and imperfect; the only difference is לֹא (pattern 29 on the Genesis 2 page). The commandment לֹא תִּרְצָח (Exod 20:13) is the same pattern.
YLVbut of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die."
velo’ tigge‘u bo — nor shall you touch it
וְ + לֹא + the 2nd masculine plural imperfect תִגְּעוּ (prefix ת + ending וּ, orange, = “you all”). In the woman’s report of God’s prohibition to the serpent, two prohibitions are joined by וְלֹא. God’s word in 2:17 has no “do not touch”; these are the woman’s words.
YLVbut of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat of it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'"
velo’ yitboshashu — and they were not ashamed
The same לֹא + imperfect, but 3rd plural inside the narrative (prefix י + ending וּ), so it is no prohibition. An imperfect inside a past scene pictures an ongoing state: “they were not ashamed” (noted under pattern 29 on the Genesis 2 page).
YLVAnd they were both naked, Adam and his woman (ishah), and they were not ashamed.
7אַל + jussive — “do not …” (real examples from the Bible)
אַל does not occur in Genesis 1–2, so the examples come from other chapters of Genesis. Every verb after it is analysed as a jussive in the OSHB.
’al-tira’ ’avram — fear not, Abram
אַל + the 2nd masculine singular jussive תִּירָא (“you fear”). Since an imperative cannot be negated, “do not …” puts אַל before a jussive. It is spoken to Abram in his present fear.
YLVAfter these things the word of YHWH came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Fear not, Abram; I am a shield to you, your reward is exceedingly great."
’al-tishlaḥ yadekha ’el-hanna‘ar — do not stretch out your hand against the lad
אַל + the jussive תִּשְׁלַח (“you stretch out”): a prohibition at that very moment, with the knife raised — “stop now.” It is followed at once by וְאַל־תַּעַשׂ לוֹ מְאוּמָּה (“and do not do anything to him”) in the same pattern.
YLVAnd he said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do not do anything to him; for now I know that you are a fearer of God, since you have not withheld your son, your only one, from me."
ve’al-ta‘as lo me’ummah — and do not do anything to him
וְ + אַל + the jussive תַּעַשׂ. The imperfect of עָשָׂה (do) is תַּעֲשֶׂה, but the jussive is the short form without the final ֶה: תַּעַשׂ. The short form shows in the letters that what follows אַל is a jussive.
YLVAnd he said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do not do anything to him; for now I know that you are a fearer of God, since you have not withheld your son, your only one, from me."
8Two prohibitions — לֹא + imperfect and אַל + jussive
| לֹא + imperfect | אַל + jussive | |
|---|---|---|
| form | לֹא תֹאכַל (2:17) | אַל־תִּירָא (15:1) |
| verb | imperfect (long form) | jussive (the short form where there is one: תַּעַשׂ) |
| common explanation in grammars | a firm, lasting prohibition (the Ten Commandments) | a prohibition for the moment; an urgent plea |
| relation to the imperative | the imperative is never negated, so both stand in its place |
The difference in meaning is the explanation grammars commonly give; it is not a rule that fits every case. Each sentence is judged in its context.
9When לֹא negates a single word (real examples from the Bible)
lo’-tov heyot ha’adam levaddo — it is not good for the man to be alone
לֹא negates not a verb but the adjective טוֹב (“good”): “not good.” The subject is the infinitive הֱיוֹת (“being”) + הָאָדָם: “the man’s being alone” (pattern 30 on the Genesis 2 page). After “good” seven times in Genesis 1, this is the first “not good.”
YLVAnd YHWH God said, "It is not good for Adam to be alone; I will make him a helper as his counterpart."
lo’-mot temutun — you shall not surely die
The serpent’s words: לֹא + the infinitive absolute מוֹת (“dying”) + the imperfect תְּמֻתוּן (“you will die”). He sets one לֹא before the two words of God’s מוֹת תָּמוּת (“you shall surely die,” 2:17) and turns the word upside down. לֹא before an infinitive absolute is an unusual order.
YLVAnd the serpent said to the woman (ishah), "You shall not surely die,
10אֵין and בַּל — real examples from the Bible
אֵין is treated in detail on the page on yesh and ein. בַּל does not occur in Genesis, so the example is from the Psalms.
ve’adam ’ayin — and there was no man
אַיִן fills the verb slot with “there is not.” It does not negate a verb, as לֹא does, but existence itself, so the clause has no verb (pattern 23 on the Genesis 2 page). Standing alone after its noun, it has the full form אַיִן.
YLVAnd every shrub of the field was not yet in the earth, and every herb of the field had not yet sprouted, for YHWH God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man (adam) to work (avad) the ground (adamah).
velekhem ’en bekhol-ha’arets — and there was no bread in all the land
“Bread” fronted, then אֵין + the place phrase בְּכָל־הָאָרֶץ (“in all the land”). With words following, it has the short form אֵין.
YLVAnd there was no bread in all the land, for the famine was very heavy; and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.
bal-’emmot — I shall not be moved
The poetic negative בַּל + the Niphal imperfect 1st singular אֶמּוֹט (“I shall be moved” — the dot in מ is the merged Niphal נ). In prose this would be לֹא אֶמּוֹט. The same בַּל־אֶמּוֹט occurs in Psalm 10:6.
YLVI have set YHWH before me always; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
11Negation and word order — with לֹא in front there is no wayyiqtol
A negative stands directly before what it negates, so a negated verb has the negative in front of it. Since a wayyiqtol can stand only first in its clause (see the word-order page), a negated past event cannot be a wayyiqtol; it is a perfect — כִּי לֹא הִמְטִיר (2:5) · לֹא־מָצָא (2:20) · וְאֶל־קַיִן וְאֶל־מִנְחָתוֹ לֹא שָׁעָה (4:5).
So “and he did not …” cannot be a link of the wayyiqtol chain; it stands outside the chain and tells what did not happen (see the narrative-chain page). In 4:4–5, “he looked to Abel” (וַיִּשַׁע, wayyiqtol) and “to Cain he did not look” (לֹא שָׁעָה, perfect) are set against each other in exactly this way.
12Other negating words — טֶרֶם · לְבִלְתִּי · פֶּן
טֶרֶם (terem) “not yet” — usually followed by an imperfect: וְכֹל שִׂיחַ הַשָּׂדֶה טֶרֶם יִהְיֶה בָאָרֶץ (2:5, “and every shrub of the field was not yet in the earth”), an imperfect though the time is past (pattern 23 on the Genesis 2 page). 57 times in the Old Testament.
לְבִלְתִּי (levilti) “so as not to” — negates an infinitive construct: לְבִלְתִּי אֲכָל־מִמֶּנּוּ (3:11, “not to eat of it”). An infinitive is not negated with לֹא but with this word.
פֶּן (pen) “lest” — wards off a feared outcome, followed by an imperfect: פֶּן־תְּמֻתוּן (3:3, “lest you die”). 133 times in the Old Testament.
13Easy to confuse
אַל (’al, “do not”) and אֶל (’el, “to, toward”) have the same consonants. The vowel tells them apart: the prohibition has patach (a), אַל; the preposition has segol (e), אֶל. Both occur in one clause in 22:12: אַל־תִּשְׁלַח יָדְךָ אֶל־הַנַּעַר (“do not stretch out your hand against the lad”).
לֹא (lo’, “not”) and לוֹ (lo, “to him”) sound alike. לֹא ends in א, לוֹ in ו. 2:18 has both: לֹא־טוֹב (“not good”) and אֶעֱשֶׂהּ־לּוֹ (“I will make for him”).
לֹא + imperfect is not always a prohibition. Spoken to a 2nd person it is a prohibition (2:17); in narrative in the 3rd person it is “did not” (2:25); of the future it is “will not.” Look at the person and the setting.
הֲלוֹא is a question, not a denial. הֲ (question) + לוֹא (not) = “is it not …?”, a question expecting “yes” — הֲלוֹא אִם־תֵּיטִיב שְׂאֵת (4:7, “is it not, if you do well, a lifting up?”). See the page on interrogatives.
14Where this appears in Genesis 1–2
All 6 places, found from the OSHB morphology. Tap one to go to that word’s notes.