בְּלִי substantive wearing out (, wearing out of a garment), hence
1. figurative destruction [Isa 38:17] שַׁחַת בְּלִי pit of destruction (of Sh®°ôl).
2. defect, failure, hence adverb of negation (compare אֶפֶס), chiefly poetic for לֹא, אֵין: —
\ \ a. with finite vb. rare and only once in prose, [Gen 31:20] (E) עַלבְּֿלִי הִגִּיד לוֺ because he told him not, [Isa 14:6]; [Isa 32:10]; [Hos 8:7]; [Hos 9:16] (Kt) [Job 41:18].
\ \ b. used to negative an adj. or participle [2Sam 1:21] בְּלִי מָשִׁיחַ not anointed, [Ps 19:4]; [Hos 7:8]: more frequently, especially in Job, joined with a substantive in sense of without, [Job 8:11] will the reed-grass grow בְּלִימָֿ֑יִם without water? [Job 24:10] they go about naked בְּלִי לְבוּשׁ without clothing, [Job 31:39]; [Job 33:9]; [Job 34:6]; [Job 38:2] words בְּלִידַֿעַת without knowledge, [Job 39:16]; [Job 42:3]; [Ps 59:5] בְּלִיעָֿוֺן יְרוּצוּן without (my) iniquity they run (against me), compare v[Ps 59:4] לֹא, [Ps 63:2] a dry land בְּלִי מָ֑יִם without water, [Isa 28:8]; [Job 30:8] בְּנֵי בְלִישֵֿׁם children of (men of) no name.
With prepositions
\ \ a. בִּבְלִי, in בִּבְלִי דַעַת [Deut 4:42]; [Deut 19:4]; [Josh 20:3]; [Josh 20:5] D (= unawares: all in D's law of homicide); without knowledge [Job 35:16]; [Job 36:12].
\ \ b. לִבְלִי in a state of (see below לְ) no..., i.e. without,[Isa 5:14] לִבְלִיחֹֿק regardless of, without measure, [Job 38:41]; [Job 41:25] that is made לִבְלִיחֵֿת (to be) in a state of no fear, i.e. to be fearless.
\ \ c. מִבְּלִי
\ \ \ (a) from want of, followed by a substantive or infin., מִן expressing causation, [Deut 9:28] ׳מִבְּלִי יְכֹלֶת י on account of Jehovah's not being able... (in [Num 14:16] מִבִּלְתִּי), [Num 28:55] (Ew238 d; but also RSJPh xvi. 72), [Isa 5:13] for want of knowledge, [Hos 4:6]; [Ezek 34:5]; [Lam 1:4] מִבְּלִי בָּאֵי מוֺעֵד for lack of comers to the stated feast. Followed by a pleonastic אֵין in the phrase הֲמִבְּלִי אֵין ֗֗֗ is it on account of there being no...? (literally is it from the deficiency of no...? compare in Syriac; PS528), [Exod 14:11]; [2Kgs 1:3]; [2Kgs 1:6]; [2Kgs 1:16]. (β) so that there is no... (literally away from there being no..., מִן expressing negation, and בְּלִי being pleonastic, as in מֵאֵין, see below אַיִן 6 d β); [Jer 2:15] its cities are burnt מִבְּלִי יוֺשֵׁב so that there is no inhabitant, [Jer 9:9-11]; [Ezek 14:15]; [Zeph 3:6]. Once as a conjunction מִבְּלִי אֲשֶׁר, with pleonastic לֹא, so that not... [Eccl 3:11]. In Job מִבְּלִי is used more freely = without, the connection with a preceding verb being no longer distinctly felt: [Job 4:20] without any heeding, they perish for ever, [Job 6:6]; [Job 24:7]; [Job 24:8] probably also [Job 4:11]; [Job 31:19] (though here the sense (α) would be admissible). (γ) in [Job 18:15] תִּשְׁכּוֺן בְּאָהֳלוֺ מִבְּלִילֿוֺ, מִן is probably partitive (so Hi): there shall dwell in his tent what is naught of his: Ew§ 323a De less probably even naught, compare below אַיִן 6 d γ; Ges 'terror (supplied from v[Job 18:14]) shall dwell in his tent so that it is no more his.'
\ \ d. עַדבְּֿלִי till there be no... [Ps 72:7]; [Mal 3:10].
The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
License: Public domain document; formatting developed for use in https://marvel.bible by Eliran Wong.
Source: provided by Tim Morton, the developer of Bible Analyzer