Midvash

אֵתʼêth

אֵת: the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite

Pronunciation: ayth · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H853

Meanings

1. As mark of the accusative prefixed to substantives defined either by the article (or כֹּל), or by a genitive or pronominal affix, or in virtue of being proper names

a. with transitive verbs (Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:16; Genesis 1:29)

b. with a passive verb (Genesis 4:18; Genesis 17:5; Genesis 21:5)

c. with neuter verbs or expressions, especially such as involve the idea of regarding, or treating (Joshua 22:17; 2 Samuel 11:25; Nehemiah 9:32)

d. poetry (si vera lectio), after an abstract noun used with a verbal force (Habakkuk 3:13; Amos 4:11; Isaiah 13:19)

2. marks an accusative in other relations than that of direct object to a verb

a. with verbs of motion (very rare) (Numbers 13:17; Deuteronomy 1:19; Deuteronomy 2:7)

b. denoting time (duration), also very rare (Exodus 13:7; Leviticus 25:22; Deuteronomy 9:25)

c. expressing the accusative of limitation (rare) (Genesis 17:11; Genesis 17:14; 1 Kings 15:23)

3. Chiefly in an inferior or later style, אֵת (or וְאֵת) is used irregularly (Exodus 1:14; Numbers 3:26; Numbers 3:46)

אֵת: mark of accusative (Daniel 3:12)

Same root

Where it appears

Appears 10,928 times in the Bible.

  • Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
  • Genesis 1:4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness.
  • Genesis 1:7 And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens.
  • Genesis 1:16 God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars.
  • Genesis 1:17 God set these lights in the sky to light the earth,
  • Genesis 1:21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
See every passage

Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).