ESTUDIO DE LA PALABRA HEBREA
ʻIm (H5973) — Meaning & Usage in the Bible
ʻIm is the most common Hebrew preposition meaning 'with,' signaling accompaniment, shared action, or relation between persons or things.
Significado de la palabra
ʻIm (עִם) is an adverb/preposition whose core meaning is 'with.' It expresses accompaniment, joint participation, or shared circumstance between two or more parties. The KJV renders it variously as 'with,' 'along with,' 'against,' 'among,' 'beside,' or 'between,' depending on the construction and prepositional prefixes attached to it.
In its most basic form ʻim accompanies a noun or pronoun to indicate who is present alongside the subject of a clause. Example verses such as Genesis 13:1 ('Lot with him') and Genesis 18:16 ('Abraham went with them') show this simple accompaniment sense, where ʻim links the actor to a companion or associates traveling together.
Beyond physical presence, ʻim also marks solidarity or shared fate. In Genesis 18:23–25 Abraham pleads that the righteous should not be destroyed 'with the wicked,' using ʻim to bind two groups together in a common judgment. The preposition therefore carries more than spatial proximity: it conveys participation in the same condition, action, or outcome.
Uso en las Escrituras
In Genesis, ʻim appears in narrative after narrative to mark relationships among patriarchal families — Abraham with Sarah, Lot with Abram, Hagar's son with Isaac (Genesis 21:10). The term sets the social map of the text: who belongs to whom, who travels together, and who shares a fate.
Across the Old Testament ʻim is the default word for accompaniment, used whether the context is covenant partnership (God 'with' his people), companionship in travel and war, or inclusion in judgment and blessing. Its flexibility makes it one of the most frequently encountered prepositions in Hebrew Scripture.
La palabra en detalle
- H5973 ʻIm (עִם) functions primarily as a preposition meaning 'with.' It can be attached to prepositional prefixes (e.g. ʿim- 'with' before a noun) and shifts meaning slightly with context, including 'against,' 'among,' 'beside,' or 'between.' Its broad range reflects how Hebrew expresses relational proximity with a single flexible preposition.
Versículos de ejemplo
- Genesis 3:6 Eve gives the fruit to her husband 'with her' (עִמָּ), marking Adam as present and complicit in the act; ʻim here notes the shared moment of taking and eating.
- Genesis 18:23 Abraham asks whether the righteous will be consumed 'with the wicked' (עִם), using ʻim to bind the two groups into one shared judgment.
- Genesis 21:10 Sarah demands that Hagar's son not be heir 'with' Isaac (עִם); ʻim marks an exclusive belonging — Isaac alone, not 'together with' Ishmael, inherits the promise.
Preguntas frecuentes
What does ʻim mean in Hebrew?
ʻim (עִם) is a preposition meaning 'with.' It expresses companionship, shared action, or shared fate between two or more parties.
How many times does ʻim appear in the Old Testament?
According to the Strong's data, ʻim appears 428 times across 378 distinct verses in the Old Testament.
Can ʻim mean 'against' as well as 'with'?
Yes. While its core meaning is 'with,' the KJV lists contexts where ʻim is rendered 'against,' 'among,' or 'between,' depending on the construction and prepositional prefix attached.