H1115 — בִּלְתִּי (biltîy)¶

Note on request: User asked for "H1107 bilti." H1107 is בִּלְעֲדֵי (bilʻădêy, "beside/without"). The word בִּלְתִּי bilti is Strong's H1115. This study is for H1115 (the word requested by name and script); for the distinct particle bilʻădêy see H1107.

Core Data¶

Strong's: H1115
Original: בִּלְתִּי
Transliteration: biltîy
Pronunciation: bil-tee
Part of Speech: Feminine substantive used as negative particle / adverb / conjunction
Root: From H1086 בָּלָה (bālâh, "to wear out, fail") — the noun-form בַּלְתִּ "failure of" lexicalized into a particle
Occurrences: 107 unique verses (171 tokens) across 21 books
First Occurrence: Gen 3:11 — "Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not (lᵉbiltî) eat?"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Constructive feminine of H1086 (equivalent to בַּל, bal); properly, a failure of, i.e. (used only as a negative particle, usually with a prepositional prefix) not, except, without, unless, besides, because not, until. KJV renders: because un(satiable), beside, but, continual, except, from, lest, neither, no more, none, not, nothing, save, that no, without.

Almost always attached to a preposition (typically לְ־ l-, forming lᵉbiltî) and followed by an infinitive construct. This is the standard Hebrew construction for negative purpose/result clauses ("so that…not," "to the end that…not") and for exceptive/restrictive clauses ("except," "save," "unless").

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
not	50	46.7%
that (introducing negative purpose)	42	39.3%
none	8	7.5%
no	5	4.7%
that none / that no	6	5.6%
except	3	2.8%
without / Without me	4	3.7%
save / Save	3	2.8%
lest	2	1.9%
neither / nor / but / else	6	~5.6%
no more / nothing / for nothing	5	~4.7%
from / to / beside / beside me / beside thee	6	~5.6%
inasmuch as / because / so that / to the intent that	4	~3.7%

Percentages exceed 100% because some verses use the word in compound English phrases ("that they shall not," "that I should not," etc.).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Jeremiah	23	1.7
Joshua	9	1.4
Amos	2	1.4
Ezekiel	14	1.1
Deuteronomy	6	0.6
Judges	4	0.6
2 Kings	4	0.6
Daniel	2	0.6
Genesis	8	0.5
Numbers	6	0.5
Hosea	1	0.5
Exodus	5	0.4
2 Samuel	3	0.4
1 Kings	3	0.4
Isaiah	5	0.4
Leviticus	3	0.3
1 Samuel	2	0.2
Job	2	0.2
1 Chronicles	1	0.1
2 Chronicles	1	0.1

Pattern: Highest density in Jeremiah and Ezekiel — prophetic-rhetorical negation ("that they might not…," "so that none shall…") dominates. Torah distribution is modest (Gen 8, Exo 5, Lev 3, Num 6, Deut 6 = 28 Torah uses, roughly 26% of the total). The word is essentially absent from wisdom/poetry (only 2 in Job, 0 in Psalms proper for this lexeme's distinct form, 0 in Proverbs/Song/Eccl) — it belongs to legal-narrative and prophetic-oracular registers, not poetic parallelism.

Semantic Categories¶

Seven functional patterns emerge from the 107 verses. The particle has no lexical content of its own — it marks the syntactic relation (negation, purpose, exception, restriction) between clauses or constituents.

1. Negative Purpose Clause: "so that…not / to the end that…not" (lᵉbiltî + infinitive)¶

The dominant pattern (~40% of uses). God or a speaker acts with the intent of preventing an outcome.

Gen 4:15 — "lest any finding him should kill him" (lᵉbiltî hakkôt ʼōtô)
Gen 19:21 — "that I will not overthrow this city" — Yahweh's concessionary purpose toward Lot
Exo 8:22 — "that no swarms of flies shall be there"
Ezek 20:9, 14, 22 — "that it should not be polluted before the heathen" (triple repetition marking Yahweh's self-restraint in judgment)

2. Prohibition / Command Negation ("that…not")¶

Negating an action someone is obligated to avoid. Frequently appears in covenant stipulations and sworn undertakings.

Gen 3:11 — "whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat"
Deut 4:21 — "that I should not go over Jordan"
Jer 35:8–9, 14 — the Rechabites' vow "to drink no wine all our days"
Dan 9:11 — "by departing, that they might not obey thy voice"

3. Exceptive: "except / save / unless / only" (restrictive exception)¶

Introduces a single item excluded from a prior negation — the particle marks the exception.

Num 11:6 — "there is nothing at all, beside this manna"
Num 32:12 — "Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh… and Joshua"
Jos 11:19 — "There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites"
Amos 3:3 — "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"

4. Privative: "without" (absence / lack)¶

Marks the absence of an accompanying thing or condition.

Deut 8:11 — "in not keeping his commandments"
Job 42:8 — "lest I deal with you after your folly"
Hos 8:7 (contextual) — negation of outcome
Jer 2:15; Ezek 14:15 (contextual pattern)

5. Absolute Negation of Existence: "none / no more / nothing"¶

Standalone nominal negation, often with a following noun or in construct.

1 Sam 2:2 — "there is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee"
Hos 13:4 — "thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me"
Isa 14:6 — "he who smote the people… with a continual stroke" (lit. "without ceasing")
Job 14:12 — "till the heavens be no more"

6. Consecutive / Result Clause ("so that…not / that they shall not")¶

Marks result rather than intent. Common in prophetic judgment language.

Jer 23:14 — "that none doth return from his wickedness"
Ezek 13:3 — prophets who follow their own spirit "and have seen nothing"
Jer 51:62 — "to cut it off, that none shall remain in it"

7. Accommodation / Concession Language (key Torah instances)¶

A minority use where lᵉbiltî-clauses register divine forbearance, conceded exception, or restrained judgment rather than absolute prohibition.

Gen 19:21 — "I have accepted thee… that I will not overthrow" (concession to Lot's request)
Gen 38:9 — Onan's contrivance "that he should not give seed" (narrated action, not command)
Exo 20:20 — "that his fear may be before you, that ye sin not" (purpose-of-theophany, disciplinary intent)
Deut 17:20 — "that he turn not aside from the commandment" (permissive-king statute framed by negative purpose)

This is the nuance behind the "accommodation-language particle" characterization: lᵉbiltî marks the direction of a concession or accommodation (the thing being prevented or excluded), without asserting that the prevented thing would be inherently good or bad. In Torah legal material the particle appears in both apodictic prohibition (Gen 3:11; Lev 18:30) and concessionary statute (Deut 17:20), so the particle by itself does not determine whether the governing verb concedes, commands, or forbids — context does.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אֲשֶׁר (ʼăsher, relative)	H834	34x (32%)	"…that…not…" — relative-headed purpose/result clause
יְהוָה (YHWH)	H3068	33x (31%)	Divine speech formula: "that they should not obey Yahweh" / "that Yahweh would not…"
לֹא (lōʼ, absolute negative)	H3808	33x (31%)	Compound negation: biltî stacks with lōʼ in "not…except" constructions
אָמַר (ʼāmar, to say)	H559	27x (25%)	Reported speech introduces the negative-purpose clause
אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlōhîm)	H430	20x (19%)	Covenant/prohibition contexts ("that they might not serve other gods")
נָתַן (nāthan, to give)	H5414	20x (19%)	"I delivered… so that none remained" (conquest idiom)
עָשָׂה (ʻāsâh, to do)	H6213	19x (18%)	"that they should not do X" (commandment-violation formula)
שָׁמַע (shāmaʻ, to hear/obey)	H8085	16x (15%)	"that they might not obey my voice" (prophetic indictment)
בּוֹא (bôʼ, to come/enter)	H935	16x (15%)	"that he should not enter the land" (Deut 4:21; Num 14)
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrāʼēl)	H3478	16x (15%)	Covenant-people subject of negated action
עַד (ʻad, until)	H5704	12x (11%)	Terminative phrase: "…until none remained" (conquest narratives)

Pattern summary: The top collocates (אשׁר, יהוה, לא, אמר, אלהים, שׁמע, עשׂה) cluster around reported divine speech prescribing or preventing human action. This is a particle of legal-covenantal discourse, not description.

Word Family / Cognates (root H1086 בָּלָה "to wear out, fail")¶

H1086 בָּלָה (bālâh) — verb: to become old, wear out, fail
H1097 בְּלִי (bᵉlî) — "without, nothing, failure" — the non-prefixed noun form
H1077 בַּל (bal) — shortened form: poetic negative "not"
H1099 בְּלִימָה (bᵉlîmâh) — "nothing, nothingness" (Job 26:7)
H1100 בְּלִיַּעַל (bᵉliyyaʻal) — "worthlessness, Belial" — bᵉlî + yaʻal ("no profit")

All derive from the semantic field "failure, absence, nothingness" — biltî is the construct/particle form specialized for clausal negation.

Synonyms¶

No discrete synonym set was returned by search_relationships.py for this particle; the tool grouped it by functional domains instead.

Antonyms¶

No antonym set was returned by search_relationships.py for this particle.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
לֹא (lōʼ)	H3808	"not" (2942 vv)	Absolute indicative negation of a finite verb; does not normally introduce infinitive or exception clauses
אַל (ʼal)	H408	"not" (490 vv)	Volitive/prohibitive negation with jussives/imperatives ("do not!") — biltî is declarative
אַיִן (ʼayin)	H369	"none / no / nothing" (168 vv)	Existential negation ("there is not"); biltî negates an action/purpose
בְּלִי (bᵉlî)	H1097	"without / nothing" (17 vv)	Cognate; functions as preposition "without" + noun, whereas biltî governs infinitives and whole clauses
בַּל (bal)	H1077	"not" (poetic)	Poetic/archaic negative, mostly Psalms; biltî is prose/legal
בִּלְעֲדֵי (bilʻădêy)	H1107	"without / beside / save"	Means "apart from, excluding"; governs a noun, not a clause. Close semantic neighbor and the word most often confused with biltî
זוּלָה (zûlâh)	H2108	"besides / except"	"Apart from," with noun complement only
אֶפֶס (ʼephes)	H657	"ceasing / none besides"	Emphatic "nothing but" — used in monotheistic exclusivity formulas (Isa 45:14, 46:9)
פֶּן (pen)	H6435	"lest" (105 vv)	Introduces an apprehensive/anticipatory negative clause ("lest X happen") — narrower than biltî
כִּי (kî)	H3588	"that / because / except"	Positive causal/resultative particle; biltî is its negative counterpart in some conjunctive uses
אִם (ʼim)	H518	"except / unless"	Conditional "if/unless"; biltî is non-conditional exception

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[004006] Negators — other words: אִי (H336), אִי (H337), אִי (H338), אִי (H339), בַּל (H1077), בְּלִי (H1097).
[004007] Restrictors — other words: אַךְ (H389), אֶפֶס (H657), זוּלָה (H2108), עַד (A5705), עַד (H5703), עַד (H5704).
[004008] Stipulators — other words: אֹו (H176), אַךְ (H389), אִלּוּ (H432), רַק (H7534), רַק (H7535).

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
καθόλου (katholou)	G2527	5	7.74	"entirely / at all" — negative totalizing use
καταλείπω (kataleipō)	G2641	9	3.24	"to leave behind" — for "that none remained" conquest formula
πλήν (plēn)	G4133	7	2.96	"except, save that" — exceptive function
παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi)	G3860	5	2.54	"hand over" — verbal complement in "deliver…until none remained"
βεβηλόω (bebēlóō)	G953	3	3.26	"profane" — Ezekiel's "that my name should not be profaned"
κατισχύω (katischyō)	G2729	3	3.08	"prevail" — verbal complement

Pattern: The LXX does not map biltî to a single Greek particle. Translators render the syntax rather than the word — using negative infinitives with τοῦ μή + inf (not showing in the PMI table because μή co-occurs with hundreds of Hebrew negators), or picking up the exceptive sense with πλήν, or supplying a verb ("leave behind," "hand over") that already carries the negation. This is consistent with biltî being a clausal-structural particle rather than a content word.

Notes on Accommodation-Language Assessment¶

When evaluating whether a Torah clause expresses divine accommodation, concession, or permission versus absolute command or prohibition, the presence of biltî/lᵉbiltî is not a sufficient marker. The particle appears across the full range:

Absolute prohibition: Gen 3:11; Lev 18:30; Num 14:16; Deut 17:12
Sworn/covenantal undertaking: Deut 4:21; Jer 35:8–9
Concessionary limitation of judgment: Gen 19:21; Ezek 20:9, 14, 22
Purpose-of-theophany (disciplinary): Exo 20:20
Permissive statute with guardrail: Deut 17:20 (king must "turn not aside")

What biltî consistently does is mark the negative pole of a purposive or exceptive relation. It tells the reader "this is what is being prevented / excluded / failed-of." Whether the governing clause is command, concession, or accommodation must be determined from the speech-act verbs, modal framing, and narrative voice — not from the particle itself.