בְּלִי

subst. wearing out (بِلًى, ܒܠܳܝ wearing out of a garment), hence fig. destruction Is 38:17 שַׁחַת בְּלִי pit of destruction (of She’ôl). defect, failure, hence adv. of negation (cf. אֶפֶס), chiefly poet. for לֹא, אֵין— with finite vb. rare and only once in prose, Gn 31:20 (E) עַל־בְּלִי הִגִּיד לוֹ because he told him not, Is 14:6; 32:10 Ho 8:7; 9:16 (Kt) Jb 41:18. used to negative an adj. or ptcp. 2 S 1:21 בְּלִי מָשִׁיחַ not anointed, ψ 19:4 Ho 7:8: more freq., especially in Job, joined with a subst. in sense of without, Jb 8:11 will the reed-grass grow בְּלִי־מָ֑יִם without water? 24:10 they go about naked בְּלִי לְבוּשׁ without clothing, 31:39; 33:9; 34:6; 38:2 words בְּלִי־דַעַת without knowledge, 39:16; 42:3 ψ 59:5 בְּלִי־עָוֹן יְרוּצוּן without (my) iniquity they run (against me), cf. v 4 לֹא, 63:2 a dry land בְּלִי מָ֑יִם without water, Is 28:8; Jb 30:8 בְּנֵי בְלִי־שֵׁם children of (men of) no name. †בִּבְלִי, in בִּבְלִי דַעַת Dt 4:42; 19:4 Jos 20:3, 5 D (= unawares: all in D’s law of homicide); without knowledge Jb 35:16; 36:12. †לִבְלִי in a state of (v. sub לְ) no …, i.e. without, Is 5:14 לִבְלִי־חֹק regardless of, without measure, Jb 38:41; 41:25 that is made לִבְלִי־חָֽת (to be) in a state of no fear, i.e. to be fearless. †מִבְּלִי (α) from want of, followed by a subst. or infin., מִן expressing causation, Dt 9:28 מִבְּלִי יְכֹלֶת י׳ on account of Jehovah’s not being able … (in Nu 14:16 מִבִּלְתִּי), 28:25 (Ew238 d; but also RSJPh. xvi.72), Is 5:13 unawares (= suddenly); Ho 4:6 Ez 34:5 La 1:4 מִבְּלִי בָּאֵי מוֹעֵד for lack of comers to the stated feast. Followed by a pleon. אֵין in the phrase הֲמִבְּלִי אֵין … is it on account of there being no …? (lit. is it from the deficiency of no …? cf. ܡܶܢ ܒܠܰܝ ܕܠܰܝܬ in Syriac; PS528), Ex 14:11 2 K 1:3, 6, 16. (β) so that there is no … (lit. away from there being no …, מִן expressing negation, and בְּלִי being pleon., as in מֵאֵין, v. sub אַיִן 6 d β); Je 2:15 its cities are burnt מִבְּלִי יוֹשֵׁב so that there is no inhabitant, 9:9–11 Ez 14:15 Zp 3:6. Once as a conj. מִבְּלִי אֲשֶׁר, with pleon. לֹא, so that not … Ec 3:11. In Job מִבְּלִי is used more freely = without, the connexion with a preceding verb being no longer distinctly felt: 4:20 without any heeding, they perish for ever, 6:6; 24:7, 8; prob. also 4:11; 31:19 (though here the sense) (α) would be admissible). (γ) in Jb 18:15 תִּשְׁכּוֹן בְּאָהֳלוֹ מִבְּלִי־לוֹ, מִן is prob. partitive (so Hi): there shall dwell in his tent what is naught of his: Ew§ 323 a De less probably even naught, cf. sub אַיִן 6 d γ; Ges ‘t error (supplied from v 14) shall dwell in his tent so that it is no more his.’ †עַד־בְּלִי till there be no … ψ 72:7 Mal 3:10.