מִן
𐤌𐤍
min
H4480 preposition
SILEX Entry
Definition
Primary sense: indicating separation, origin, or source; used as a preposition marking movement or distinction away from, out of, or beginning from a point, often specifying physical, temporal, or conceptual source. Also conveys causal relationships, partitive sense (indicating a portion of a whole), agency, and comparative meaning when paired with adjectives.
Semantic Range
from (place, person, thing), out of, away from, among, because of, due to, by reason of, on account of, since, after, over, part of, agent (in passive voice), comparative marker ('than'), exclusion ('neither... nor...'), beginning at, from within, through
Root / Etymology
Root: מן, likely derived from a very archaic root meaning 'to separate' or 'to apportion.' The direct root meaning is mostly lost in Biblical Hebrew, but the preposition min is functionally consistent with the notion of separation, source, or derivation. Related prepositions exist in other Semitic languages (e.g., Akkadian ina as a general preposition for 'from/in'), supporting its antiquity.
Historical & Contextual Notes
מִן is one of Biblical Hebrew's most versatile and frequent prepositions, typically meaning 'from' in the sense of separation, origin, or cause. It frequently marks: 1) physical separation or motion ('from a place' e.g., Genesis 12:1); 2) partitive/selection within a group ('from among them'); 3) source/origin, whether spatial, temporal, or conceptual ('from the beginning,' 'from Abraham'); 4) causality ('because of'); 5) agent in passive constructions ('by someone'); 6) comparisons, as in 'greater than' (using min after an adjective); 7) in temporal constructs ('since,' 'from then'); 8) as an exclusionary marker ('neither... nor...'). It takes both singular and plural construct forms, especially in poetic and late biblical contexts, where forms like מִנִּי and מִנֵּי appear. English translations often flatten the term to 'from,' but context determines nuance. The term is found throughout every period of Biblical Hebrew, with little semantic shift, though poetic and later biblical texts sometimes expand its comparative, partitive, or idiomatic uses. In Qumran Hebrew and post-biblical literature, some further idiomatic expansions appeared. Distinguished from other prepositions like עַל ('on, over'), בְּ ('in, with'), and אֶל ('to, toward'), but sometimes overlaps in cases of source and agency. In later translations ('Jew' for Judean), the preposition might appear in constructs indicating ethnic or geographic origin, but in the Hebrew Bible, it retains the broader sense of source or derivation without anachronistic religious labeling.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
or מִנִּי; or מִנֵּי; (constructive plural) (Isaiah 30:11); for מֵן; properly, a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses; above, after, among, at, because of, by (reason of), from (among), in, [idiom] neither, [idiom] nor, (out) of, over, since, [idiom] then, through, [idiom] whether, with.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
מן (Minit) — to separate, to distinguish, to apportion, to extract
Word Forms
25 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4480-15 |
מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from | 622 |
H4480-14 |
מִמֶּ֑/נּוּ | mimenu | HR/Sp1cp |
from him | from us | from it | 171 |
H4480-25 |
וּ/מִן | umin | HC/R |
and from | and from | and from | 102 |
H4480-13 |
מִמֶּ֨/נִּי֙ | mimeni | HR/Sp1cs |
from me | from me | from me | 87 |
H4480-12 |
מִמֶּֽ/נָּה | mimenah | HR/Sp3fs |
from it | from her | from it | 60 |
H4480-10 |
מִמְּ/ךָ֖ | mimekha | HR/Sp2ms |
from you | from you | from you | 58 |
H4480-09 |
מִ/כֶּֽם | mikem | HR/Sp2mp |
from you | from you (masculine plural) | from you | 38 |
H4480-19 |
מִ/נִּ֖י | mini | HR/Sp1cs |
from | from me | from me | 34 |
H4480-11 |
מִמֵּ/ךְ֙ | mimekhe | HR/Sp2fs |
from you | from you (feminine) | from you | 20 |
H4480-04 |
לְ/מִן | lemin | HR/R |
from | to/from | from | 11 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1230 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4480-15 |
Genesis 2:6 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 2:7 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 2:9 | מִן | min | HR |
out of | from | from |
H4480-14 |
Genesis 2:17 | מִמֶּ֑/נּוּ | mimenu | HR/Sp1cp |
of it | from us | from it |
H4480-14 |
Genesis 2:17 | מִמֶּ֖/נּוּ | mimenu-2 | HR/Sp1cp |
of it | from us | from it |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 2:19 | מִן | min | HR |
out of | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 2:22 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-14 |
Genesis 3:3 | מִמֶּ֔/נּוּ | mimenu | HR/Sp1cp |
of it | from us | from it |
H4480-14 |
Genesis 3:5 | מִמֶּ֔/נּוּ | mimenu | HR/Sp3ms |
of it | from us | from it |
H4480-03 |
Genesis 3:11 | הֲ/מִן | hamin | HTi/R |
have you eaten from | from? | from |
H4480-14 |
Genesis 3:11 | מִמֶּ֖/נּוּ | mimenu | HR/Sp1cp |
from it | from us | from it |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 3:12 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 3:17 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-14 |
Genesis 3:17 | מִמֶּ֑/נּוּ | mimenu | HR/Sp1cp |
from it | from us | from it |
H4480-12 |
Genesis 3:19 | מִמֶּ֖/נָּה | mimenah | HR/Sp3fs |
from it | from her | from it |
H4480-14 |
Genesis 3:22 | מִמֶּ֔/נּוּ | mimenu | HR/Sp1cp |
of us | from us | from us |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 4:10 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 4:11 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 5:29 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-25 |
Genesis 6:20 | וּ/מִן | umin | HC/R |
and of | and from | and from |
H4480-25 |
Genesis 7:2 | וּ/מִן | umin | HC/R |
and of | and from | and of |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 7:8 | מִן | min | HR |
of | from | from |
H4480-25 |
Genesis 7:8 | וּ/מִן | umin | HC/R |
and of | and from | and from |
H4480-25 |
Genesis 7:8 | וּ/מִ֨ן | umin-2 | HC/R |
and of | and from | and from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 7:23 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 8:2 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 8:10 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 8:16 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 8:19 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 9:18 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 9:21 | מִן | min | HR |
some of | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 10:11 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 13:14 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-12 |
Genesis 16:2 | מִמֶּ֑/נָּה | mimenah | HR/Sp3fs |
from her | from her | from her |
H4480-10 |
Genesis 17:6 | מִמְּ/ךָ֥ | mimekha | HR/Sp2ms |
from you | from you | from you |
H4480-12 |
Genesis 17:16 | מִמֶּ֛/נָּה | mimenah | HR/Sp3fs |
from her | from her | from her |
H4480-12 |
Genesis 17:16 | מִמֶּ֥/נָּה | mimenah-2 | HR/Sp3fs |
from her | from her | from her |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 19:12 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 19:14 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 19:24 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 21:15 | מִן | min | HR |
in | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 21:17 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 22:11 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-13 |
Genesis 22:12 | מִמֶּֽ/נִּי | mimeni | HR/Sp1cs |
from me | from me | from me |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 22:15 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-14 |
Genesis 23:6 | מִמֶּ֔/נּוּ | mimenu | HR/Sp1cp |
of us | from us | from us |
H4480-10 |
Genesis 23:6 | מִמְּ/ךָ֖ | mimekha | HR/Sp2ms |
from you | from you | from you |
H4480-13 |
Genesis 23:13 | מִמֶּ֔/נִּי | mimeni | HR/Sp1cs |
from me | from me | from me |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 25:29 | מִן | min | HR |
from | from | from |
H4480-15 |
Genesis 25:30 | מִן | min | HR |
some of | from | from |