--- title: אַךְ — surely · The Tanakh dictionary description: אַךְ (389), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 161 times: surely. BDB 1906: adv. surely howbeit. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/389.html) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [Tanakh](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/) / [א](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1488-4.md)‎ / אַךְ‎ # אַךְ «אַךְ» in the Tanakh dictionary: **surely** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers. **Used:** 161 times · **Key:** 389 · **BDB:** אַךְ ### Glosses only (67); surely (49); nevertheless (36) ### Meaning (OSHB) surely [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/389/#m1) ### Meaning (BDB 1906) adv. surely howbeit [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/389/#m2) **The whole BDB entry:** adv. (perh. from the same demonstr. root found also in כִּי, כֹּה, כֵּן). 1. surely. 2. with a restrictive force, emphasizing what follows: a. in contrast to what precedes, howbeit; b. in contrast with other ideas generally, only. asseverative, often introducing with emphasis the expression of a truth (or supposed truth) newly perceived, especially in colloquial language, surely, no doubt; Gn 26:9 אַךְ הִנֵּה אִשְׁתְּךָ הִוא of a surety, lo, she is thy wife! 29:14; 44:28 Ju 3:24; 20:39 1 S 16:6 surely the anointed of י׳ is before him! 25:21 Je 5:4 ψ 58:12; 73:1, 13; but also in other cases, though rarely, Is 34:14, 15 Zp 3:7 ψ 23:6; 139:11; 140:14 Jb 16:7; 18:21; \& rather singularly Ex 12:15; 31:13 Lv 23:27, 39 (all P). restrictive: in contrast to what precedes, howbeit, yet, but: Gn 9:4 howbeit, flesh with the life thereof … ye shall not eat, 20:12 Ex 21:21 Lv 21:23; 27:26 Nu 18:15, 17 2 S 3:13; Je 10:24 correct me, אַךְ בְּמִשְׁפָּט but with judgment, Jb 2:6; 13:15; sts. with an advers. force, as Is 14:15; 43:24; before an imper. (minimizing the request), Gn 23:13 only, if thou wilt, I pray thee, hear me! 27:13 Ju 10:15 1 S 18:17 1 K 17:13 al. So 1 S 8:9 אַךְ כִּי (v. כִּי 1 d; and cf. πλὴν ὅτι). in contrast to other ideas generally:—(α) Gn 7:23; 18:32 אַךְ הַפַּעַם only this once (so Ex 10:17 al.) 34:15 Ex 12:16 (note accents), 1 S 18:8 וְעוֹד לוֹ אַךְ הַמְּלוּכָה and there yet remains for him only the kingdom, 21:5 Isa 45:14 אַךְ בְּךָ אֵל only in thee is God! ψ 62:2 etc. Jb 14:22; ψ 37:8 fret not thyself אַךְ לְהָרֵעַ (which leadeth) only to do evil, Pr 11:24 he that withholdeth more than is meet אַךְ לְמַחְסוֹר (tendeth) only to penury, 14:23; 21:5; 22:16; (β) attaching itself closely to the foll. word (usually an adj., rarely a verb), only, i.e. exclusively, altogether, utterly Dt 16:15 and thou shalt be אַךְ שָׂמֵחַ altogether rejoicing, 28:29 (cf. v 33 רַק) Isa 16:7 אַךְ נְכָאִים utterly stricken, 19:11 Je 16:19 nought but lies, 32:30 Ho 12:12 Jb 19:13 אַךְ זָרוּ are wholly estranged (with play on אַכְזָר cruel). as an adv. of time (with inf. abs.), twice: Gn 27:30 אַךְ יָצֹא יָצָא יַעֲקֹב … וְעֵשָׂו בָּא only just (or scarcely) had Jacob gone out, … and (= when) Esau came in, Ju 7:19.—וְאַךְ thrice: Gn 9:5 and only (second limitation of v 3); Nu 22:20 but only; Jos 22:19 but howbeit. —In some passages the affirmative and restrictive senses agree equally with the context; and authorities read the Hebrew differently. Thus only = nought but, altogether, is adopted by Ges Ew Hi De in ψ 23:6; 62:10; 73:1, 13; by Ew Hi De in 39:6, 7 (Che surely); by Ges Ew De in 39:12 (but Hi Che surely); by Ew Hi in 73:18 (De Che surely); by Ges Hi De in 139:11 (Ew doch). Isa 45:14 Ges Ew Hi Di only; but De Che of a truth. Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech not compared, 74 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (3 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech not compared, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (2 candidates) ### Trees and pragmatics [Every English meaning of «אַךְ» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/389/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames. ### In the verses [Proverbs 11:23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.11.23/) תַּאֲוַ֣ת צַדִּיקִ֣ים אַךְ־ט֑וֹב תִּקְוַ֖ת רְשָׁעִ֣ים עֶבְרָֽה׃ *Word for word:* \[the\].desire of.righteous.\[people\] only \[is\].good \[the\].hope of.wicked.\[people\] \[is\].fury *JPS 1917:* The desire of the righteous is only good; but the expectation of the wicked is wrath. [Isaiah 14:15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/ISA.14.15/) אַ֧ךְ אֶל־שְׁא֛וֹל תּוּרָ֖ד אֶל־יַרְכְּתֵי־בֽוֹר׃ *Word for word:* nevertheless to Sheol you.have.been.brought.down to \[the\].remotest.parts of.\[the\].pit *JPS 1917:* Yet thou shalt be brought down to the nether-world, to the uttermost parts of the pit. - ← previous: [אֵיתָן](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/388.md) - next →: [אַכַּד](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/390.md) - ↑ back to [א](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1488-4.md)