בְּלִי substantive wearing out (, wearing out of a garment), hence

1 figurative destruction Isaiah 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, Genesis 31:20 (E) עַלבְּֿלִי הִגִּיד לוֺ because he told him not, Isaiah 14:6; Isaiah 32:10; Hosea 8:7; Hosea 9:16 (Kt) Job 41:18.

b. used to negative an adj. or participle 2 Samuel 1:21 בְּלִי מָשִׁיחַ not anointed, Psalm 19:4; Hosea 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; Psalm 59:5 בְּלִיעָֿוֺן יְרוּצוּן without (my) iniquity they run (against me), compare Psalm 59:4 לֹא, Psalm 63:2 a dry land בְּלִי מָ֑יִם without water, Isaiah 28:8; Job 30:8 בְּנֵי בְלִישֵֿׁם children of (men of) no name.

With prepositions a. בִּבְלִי, in בִּבְלִי דַעַת Deuteronomy 4:42; Deuteronomy 19:4; Joshua 20:3,5 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,Isaiah 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, Deuteronomy 9:28 ׳מִבְּלִי יְכֹלֶת י on account of Jehovah's not being able... (in Numbers 14:16 מִבִּלְתִּי), Numbers 28:55 (Ew^238d; but also RS^{JPh xvi. 72}), Isaiah 5:13 for want of knowledge, Hosea 4:6; Ezekiel 34:5; Lamentations 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), Exodus 14:11; 2 Kings 1:3,6,16. (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 6d β); Jeremiah 2:15 its cities are burnt מִבְּלִי יוֺשֵׁב so that there is no inhabitant, Jeremiah 9:9-11 Ezekiel 14:15; Zephaniah 3:6. Once as a conjunction מִבְּלִי אֲשֶׁר, with pleonastic לֹא, so that not... Ecclesiastes 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 24:7,8; 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 6d γ; Ges 'terror (supplied from Job 18:14) shall dwell in his tent so that it is no more his.'

d. עַדבְּֿלִי till there be no... Psalm 72:7; Malachi 3:10.

בְּ֝לִ֗י בְּֽלִ֫י בְּֽלִי־ בְּלִ֔י בְּלִ֖י בְּלִ֣י בְּלִ֥י בְּלִי֙ בְּלִי־ בְלִי־ בִּבְלִי־ בִבְלִי־ בַֽל־ בבלי־ בל־ בלי בלי־ הַֽמִבְּלִ֤י המבלי וּֽמִבְּלִ֥י ומבלי כִּבְלִי־ כבלי־ לִבְלִי־ לבלי־ מִבְּלִ֖י מִבְּלִ֞י מִבְּלִ֣י מִבְּלִ֥י מִבְּלִי֙ מִבְּלִי־ מבלי מבלי־ ḇal- bə·lî bə·lî- ḇə·lî- beLi bəlî bəlî- ḇəlî- biḇ·lî- ḇiḇ·lî- biḇlî- ḇiḇlî- bivli ha·mib·bə·lî hamibbeLi hamibbəlî kiḇ·lî- kiḇlî- kivli liḇ·lî- liḇlî- livli mib·bə·lî mib·bə·lî- mibbeLi mibbəlî mibbəlî- ū·mib·bə·lî umibbeLi ūmibbəlî val veli vivliInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts