Lexical Summary
mi: who, whoever, whom
Original Word:מִי
Part of Speech:pronoun interrogative; feminine
Transliteration:miy
Pronunciation:mee
Phonetic Spelling:(me)
KJV: any (man), X he, X him, + O that! what, which, who(-m, -se, -soever), + would to God
NASB:who, whom, what, whose, whoever, how, which
Word Origin:[an interrogative pronoun of persons, asH4100 (מָה מַה מָ מַ מֶה - what) is of things]
1. who?
2. (occasionally, by a peculiar idiom, of things) which?
3. (indefinitely) whoever
{often used in oblique construction with prefix or suffix}
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
any man, he, him, O that! What, which, whom would to God
An interrogative pronoun of persons, asmah is of things, who? (occasionally, by a peculiar idiom, of things); also (indefinitely) whoever; often used in oblique construction with prefix or suffix -- any (man), X he, X him, + O that! What, which, who(-m, -se, -soever), + would to God.
see HEBREWmah
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. pronoun
Definitionwho?
NASB Translationhow (4), O (1), Oh (3), Oh that someone (3), Oh* (13), someone (1), what (19), which (4), who (285), whoever (12), whoever* (4), whom (48), whom* (1), whose (16), would* (7).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
423 of persons, as (q. v.) of things (Ethiopic
but only =
What ? and
How ? Assyrian
mî, me (rare) Jäger
BAS. ii. 277, the usual Semitic form for
Who? has
n, namely Assyrian
mannu, manu (Dl
HWB 419), Ethiopic
man¥, Aramaic
Arabic
, Vulgar Arabic
min, m£n, from a form resembling which, by rejection of
n, probably Hebrew : W
SG 123 f.): —
who ? (;
quis ?)
Genesis 3:11 who told thee ?
Genesis 24:65who is this man ?
Genesis 27:18who art thou, my son ?
Numbers 22:9;
Judges 1:1;
Judges 6:29;
Judges 15:6;
Judges 18:3;
Judges 20:18;
2 Samuel 1:8 + often;
Ruth 3:9who art thou, (feminine) ?
Isaiah 51:12; of more than one,
who are these ?
Genesis 33:5;
Genesis 48:8;
Isaiah 60:8;
2 Kings 10:13; once, more explicitly,
Exodus 10:8; =
as who ? (i.e. in what condition, or capacity),
Amos 7:2 vAmos 7:5;
Isaiah 51:19 (but Vrss Che Lag Brd Du , as "" ),
Ruth 3:16 (Be Ke Kö
iii. 388). Note in particular:
is rarely used ofthings, and usually where persons are understood or implied:Genesis 33:8who (orwhat) to thee is all this camp ?Deuteronomy 4:7;Judges 9:28who is Shechem (i.e. the Shechemites) ?Micah 1:5 , vbSongs 3:6;Judges 13:17 ( butGenesis 32:28;Exodus 3:13: with compare in AramaicEzra 5:4; Genesis, Exodusll. cc. ; and see NöM. p. 341). On1 Samuel 18:18, see II.
in the Genitive,whose daughter art thou ?Genesis 24:23,47;1 Samuel 12:3 (3 t. in verse);1 Samuel 17:55;Jeremiah 44:28;Job 26:4;Job 33:28; after various prepositions, as1 Samuel 24:15 (twice in verse);1 Samuel 6:20;2 Kings 9:5 +; bywhom ?1 Kings 20:14,20to whom ? whose ?Genesis 32:18 ,Genesis 38:25;Proverbs 20:20 (6 t.) +;Ezekiel 32:19;Psalm 27:1 (twice in verse);2 Kings 18:20;2 Kings 19:22;Isaiah 57:4 +; (so always in accusative),1 Samuel 12:3 (twice in verse);1 Samuel 28:11;Isaiah 6:8; =with whom ?Job 12:3.
Genesis 21:26;Genesis 43:22 we do not knowwho put, etc.,Deuteronomy 21:1;Psalm 39:7;Joshua 24:15 choosewhom ye will serve, after1 Samuel 14:17,1 Samuel 17:56,1 Kings 1:20,1 Kings 1:27.
who among ... ?1 Samuel 22:14;Isaiah 36:20;Isaiah 43:9;Isaiah 48:14 ()Isaiah 42:23;Isaiah 50:10;Haggai 2:3 ( all );who of ... ?Judges 21:8;2 Kings 6:11;Isaiah 50:1.
strengthened and emphatic forms of interrogative: (a) (see ), (see ),Psalm 24:10;Jeremiah 30:21;Esther 7:5 (seeibid.); (b)what single one ... ?Judges 21:8, compare2 Samuel 7:23 ( =1 Chronicles 17:21).
rhetorical uses ( oftenrepeated in "" clause, asPsalm 15:1;Psalm 18:32;Isaiah 28:9;Isaiah 29:15): —(a) followed by imperfect it expresses awish ( the question implying a desire that the person asked for were present ),2 Samuel 15:4who will set me judge ? i.e.would that some one would make me judge !2 Samuel 23:15 =O that one would give me to drink, etc. ! compareNumbers 11:4,18;Malachi 1:10;Psalm 4:7;Psalm 60:11;Psalm 94:16;Isaiah 42:23, and very often in the phrasewho will give? i.e.would that there were. . . ! asNumbers 11:29 = andwould that all s people were prophets!Deuteronomy 28:67 =would it were even!Judges 9:29 + (see ).(b) it expressescontempt (who ? implying the answerno one at all),Exodus 5:2who is that I should listen to his voice ?Judges 9:28 ,Judges 9:38;1 Samuel 17:26who is this Philistine that he should have reproached, etc.?1 Samuel 25:10Isaiah 28:9;Job 26:4;Proverbs 30:9 ; ormodesty (real or assumed),Exodus 3:111 Samuel 18:18 who am I, and who is my clan (), that I should be the king's son-in-law ?2 Samuel 7:18;1 Chronicles 29:14; 2Chron 2:5; orsurprise,Isaiah 44:10;Isaiah 49:21.(c) in impassioned prose, and especially in poetry, implying the answerfew ornone, it is equivalent to a rhetorical negative,Deuteronomy 9:2who can stand, etc.?Deuteronomy 30:12Deuteronomy 30:13;1 Samuel 4:8 ,1 Samuel 6:20;1 Samuel 22:14;1 Samuel 26:9,15;2 Samuel 16:10;who shall (or can) say ?Job 9:12;Proverbs 20:9;Ecclesiastes 8:4; with the perfect (of experience),who has ever . . . ?Numbers 23:10;Deuteronomy 5:23;Isaiah 36:20;Isaiah 66:8 (twice in verse);Jeremiah 18:13 ,Jeremiah 23:18 (),Jeremiah 30:21;Job 4:7;Job 9:4 ,Job 41:3;Proverbs 30:4;Lamentations 3:37; in poetry, very often, asGenesis 49:9who can rouse him up ? (i.e. no one),Exodus 15:11 (twice in verse) (soPsalm 35:10 and elsewhere),Numbers 24:9,23;1 Samuel 2:25who shall intercede for him ? (i.e. no one),Isaiah 1:12;Isaiah 10:3;Isaiah 40:13,14,18;Isaiah 41:26;Isaiah 42:19;Isaiah 43:9;Isaiah 48:14;Isaiah 50:1;Isaiah 53:1 (i.e. few or none), etc.;Psalm 18:32 ,Psalm 76:8;Psalm 89:7;Psalm 130:3;Job 21:31;Job 34:29;Jeremiah 17:9;Joel 2:11;Malachi 3:2;Amos 3:8;Jeremiah 10:7;Job 12:9 (compareJob 25:3;Nahum 3:19); ()who shall (can) turn it back ?Job 9:12;Job 11:10;Job 23:13;Isaiah 14:27;Isaiah 43:13;Jeremiah 2:24; implying the answer,no one but God,Isaiah 40:12;Isaiah 41:2;Job 38:5;Job 35:6;Job 35:25, etc.; defiantly,Isaiah 50:9 ,Jeremiah 21:13;Jeremiah 49:4 ,Jeremiah 49:19; Obadiah 3;Psalm 12:5 ,Psalm 59:8;Psalm 64:6;Job 9:19 ,Job 13:19who is he that will contend with me ?Job 17:3;Job 41:2. Notice in examples of this kind the frequentorder of words:Proverbs 20:6 ,Proverbs 24:22 ,Proverbs 31:10;Nahum 1:6 ,Psalm 147:17 ,Job 4:2 ,Job 26:14;Job 38:37;Job 39:5;Job 41:5;Job 41:6;Psalm 6:6 ,Psalm 19:13; and with thenom. pendens,Jeremiah 2:24 ,Proverbs 18:14;Job 17:15 ,Job 38:29 . (d)who knoweth ? (Psalm 90:11;Proverbs 24:22), followed by a verbal clause, becomes (comparenescio an) =it may be, perchance,2 Samuel 12:22 (Qr ),Joel 2:14 ( =Jonah 3:9) ,Esther 4:14 . (e) especially in poetry, a question with , to which the answer follows, is an effective mode of affirming a fact, or introducing a description:Psalm 15:1 (twice in verse) (seePsalm 15:2);Psalm 24:3;Psalm 24:8;Psalm 24:10;Isaiah 23:8 (Isaiah 23:9 the answ., ),Isaiah 33:14 (seeIsaiah 33:15f.),Isaiah 37:23;Isaiah 41:2,4;Isaiah 60:8;Isaiah 63:1;Jeremiah 46:7;Songs 3:6, compareSongs 6:10;Songs 8:3; answered byExodus 4:11;Isaiah 42:24;Isaiah 45:21;Micah 1:5 (twice in verse).
may sometimes be renderedwhosoever, though, as the examples will shew, it does not really mean it:Exodus 24:14 , literallyWho hath a cause ? let him draw nigh unto them, i.e.whoso hath a cause, let him, etc.,Isaiah 50:8b ,Isaiah 54:15;Judges 7:3who is fearful and trembling ? let him return,Proverbs 9:4,16 ,Ezra 1:3 (compare with in apodosisJeremiah 9:11;Hosea 14:10;Psalm 107:43;Zechariah 4:10 is dubious, on account of anomalous tense and construction); so withDeuteronomy 20:5,6,7;Judges 10:18, comparePsalm 25:12. With 1person in apodosis,Exodus 32:33 ,Jeremiah 49:19 ( =Jeremiah 50:44) andwho is chosen?I will appoint him over her!Isaiah 50:8a; with an imperative in the apodosisExodus 32:24 (against accents; see Ra)who hath gold ? break it off you!Genesis 19:12;1 Samuel 11:12, comparePsalm 34:13f.; without a verb,Exodus 32:26who is on J.'s side ? (let him come) to me! so2 Samuel 20:11 ();Ecclesiastes 5:9;Ecclesiastes 9:4 ().
(compare
),any one,2 Samuel 18:12 Have a care,whosoever ye be, of, etc. (but Bu ; compare2 Samuel 18:5).
Topical Lexicon
Meaning and Function in Hebrew Narrative and Poetryמִי introduces questions of identity, capability, origin, ownership, and worth. It stands at the opening of direct interrogatives (“Who is this man?”), functions inside rhetorical questions that expect no answer (“Who can stand before His indignation?”Nahum 1:6), and appears in exclamatory clauses that magnify wonder (“Who is like You, O LORD?”Exodus 15:11). By its very nature the word demands attention, calls for reflection, and drives the hearer toward either confession of ignorance or declaration of faith.
Frequency and Distribution
Approximately 422 occurrences span every major genre of the Old Testament: Torah, Historical Books, Wisdom Literature, Psalms, Prophets. Its spread shows that Israelite life—legal, liturgical, royal, prophetic—was saturated with questions that ultimately pointed back to the covenant God.
Key Contextual Categories
1. Divine Self-Revelation
•Exodus 15:11 – “Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?”
•Deuteronomy 5:26 – “For who of all flesh has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire, as we have, and lived?”
Such questions expose the incomparable nature of Yahweh and invite worship.
2. Human Condition and Identity
•Psalm 8:4 – “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?”
•Job 38:2 – “Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?”
מִי frames humankind as dependent, finite, and accountable to divine wisdom.
3. Covenant Questions
•Numbers 16:11 – “Therefore it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the LORD! And who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?”
•1 Samuel 26:14 – David cries, “Who is it that calls to the king?” establishing covenant protocol and loyalty.
4. Wisdom and Rhetorical Inquiry
•Proverbs 30:4 – “Who has ascended to heaven and come down? … What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—surely you know!”
Wisdom literature turns questions into theological meditations, hinting at mysteries later clarified in Christ.
5. Eschatological and Prophetic Usage
•Isaiah 40:13 – “Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or who has given Him counsel?”
•Joel 2:11 – “Who can endure it?” concerning the day of the LORD.
Prophets employ מִי to underscore divine sovereignty and coming judgment.
6. Liturgical and Devotional Use
•Psalm 24:8 – “Who is this King of Glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.”
Worshipers are drawn into doxology through questions that both ask and answer.
7. Legal and Forensic Contexts
•1 Kings 3:23 – Solomon: “The king said, ‘This woman says, "My son is alive," and your son is dead,’… ‘Who says so?’”
מִי sharpens cross-examination and pursuit of righteousness in judicial scenes.
Theology of Interrogation
Biblical faith welcomes honest questioning but never leaves God on trial. מִי reverses the spotlight: humanity must answer for itself before the Creator. Every occurrence either magnifies divine uniqueness, exposes human limitation, or sets the stage for redemptive revelation.
Christological Foreshadowings
Proverbs 30:4’s climactic “What is His name, and what is the name of His Son?” anticipates fuller disclosure in the incarnation. Gospel narratives echo the Old Testament pattern when crowds ask, “Who is this?” concerning Jesus (for example,Matthew 21:10), identifying Him with the very LORD whom Scripture proclaimed incomparable.
Ministry Application
• Preaching: Use מִי passages to confront false gods and self-sufficiency, leading congregations to declare, “There is none like You.”
• Counseling: The psalmists’ questions model honest lament; believers may voice “Who can rescue me?” while trusting the Answerer.
• Evangelism: Rhetorical “Who” texts supply apologetic starting points, pressing seekers to recognize the unmatched glory of Christ.
Historical Reception and Translation
Early Hebrew scrolls, Septuagint translators (τίς), and later English versions faithfully preserve the interrogative force. Church fathers sawExodus 15:11 as a creed of monotheism. Reformers invoked מִי to denounce idolatry, and modern hymnody echoes the same refrain (“Who is a pardoning God like Thee?”).
Representative Passages for Study
Genesis 3:11;Exodus 15:11;Deuteronomy 10:17;Joshua 24:15;1 Samuel 17:26;2 Samuel 7:18;1 Kings 18:24;Nehemiah 6:11;Job 38:2;Psalm 24:8;Psalm 113:5;Proverbs 30:4;Isaiah 40:13;Jeremiah 49:19;Joel 2:11;Nahum 1:6;Malachi 3:2.
Summary
Wherever מִי appears, Scripture compels readers to face the ultimate question: “Who is the LORD, and who are we before Him?” The answer unfolds progressively, culminating in Jesus Christ, in whom every “Who?” finds its full, saving reply.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּמִ֔י במי וָמִ֖י וּלְמִ֖י וּלְמִ֣י ׀ וּלְמִי֙ וּמִ֖י וּמִ֣י וּמִ֤י וּמִ֥י וּמִ֨י וּמִֽי־ וּמִי֙ וּמִי־ ולמי ומי ומי־ לְ֝מִ֗י לְ֭מִי לְֽמִי־ לְמִ֖י לְמִ֞י לְמִ֣י לְמִ֤י לְמִ֥י לְמִ֨י לְמִ֪י לְמִי֙ לְמִי־ למי למי־ מִ֑י מִ֕י מִ֖י מִ֗י מִ֚י מִ֛י מִ֝֗י מִ֝י מִ֞י מִ֠י מִ֣י מִ֣י ׀ מִ֤י מִ֥י מִ֨י מִ֭י מִֽי מִֽי־ מִי֙ מִי֩ מִי־ מִמִּ֖י מִמִּ֣י מִמִּ֥י מי מי־ ממי bə·mî beMi bəmî lə·mî lə·mî- lemi ləmî ləmî- mi mî mî- mim·mî miMi mimmî miSha ū·lə·mî ū·mî ū·mî- uleMi ūləmî uMi ūmî ūmî- vaMi wā·mî wāmî
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