H6256 — עֵת (ʻêth)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H6256
Original: עֵת
Transliteration: ʻêth
Pronunciation: ayth
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: Uncertain; cognate with H5732 (Aramaic ʻiddân) — both from a root relating to time
Occurrences: 258 unique verses (379 tokens) in OT
Books: 33
First Occurrence: Gen 8:11 — "the dove came in to him in the evening"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From an unused root; time, especially (adverb with preposition) now, when, etc.:— after, (al-)ways, certain, continually, evening, long, (due) season, so (long) as, (even-, evening-, noon-)tide, (meal-), what) time, when.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
time / times / a time	~166	64.3%
at / at the time	~65	25.2%
season / in his season / in due season	~14	5.4%
when / always	~8	3.1%
Other (evening-tide, noon-tide, long, certain)	~5	1.9%

Note: KJV often renders ʻêth as a preposition phrase ("at," "in the time") rather than a standalone noun.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Ecclesiastes	18	8.1
Zephaniah	3	5.7
Haggai	2	5.3
Daniel	13	3.6
Micah	3	2.9
Jeremiah	34	2.5
Esther	4	2.4
Deuteronomy	18	1.9
2 Chronicles	16	1.9
Nehemiah	7	1.7
Judges	10	1.6
2 Kings	11	1.5
Hosea	3	1.5
Ezekiel	14	1.1
Psalms	22	0.9
Isaiah	11	0.9
Job	10	0.9
Genesis	9	0.6
Proverbs	5	0.5

Highest density in Ecclesiastes (wisdom reflection on time), Zephaniah/Daniel (eschatological usage), and Jeremiah (prophetic crisis language). Remarkably sparse in the Torah (Exodus–Numbers), where moed dominates appointed-time language.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Historical Narrative Moment ("at that time")¶

The most common usage: a deictic pointer to a historical moment in narrative, often introduced by "at that time" (בָּעֵת הַהִיא bāʻêth hahîʼ).

Deut 1:9 — "And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone"
Josh 5:2 — "At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel"
1 Kgs 8:65 — "And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him"
1 Chr 12:32 — "And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do"

2. Appointed / Proper Time¶

ʻêth used for a set, expected, or fitting occasion — divinely appointed or naturally determined.

Gen 18:14 — "At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son"
Jer 8:7 — "Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD"
2 Sam 24:15 — "the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed"
Eccl 3:1 — "To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven"

3. Natural Seasons and Cycles¶

ʻêth applied to recurring natural time periods (harvest, rain, evening, tides).

Gen 8:11 — dove returned "in the evening" (lit. at the time of evening)
Zech 10:1 — "Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain"
Hos 2:9 — "I will return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof"
Job 5:26 — "Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season"

4. Time of Trouble / Crisis¶

A dominant prophetic pattern: ʻêth + trouble/distress, marking a moment of acute need or judgment.

Judg 10:14 — "let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation"
Neh 9:27 — "in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven"
Jer 14:8 — "O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land"
Dan 12:1 — "there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time"

5. Eschatological / End Time¶

In Daniel especially, ʻêth refers to the culminating prophetic moment of history — "the time of the end."

Dan 8:17 — "Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision"
Dan 11:35 — "even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed"
Joel 3:1 — "in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem"
Ezek 7:7 — "the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains"

6. Wisdom about the Right Moment¶

ʻêth used reflexively in wisdom literature and prophetic speech: discerning, seizing, or missing the appropriate time.

Eccl 3:2–8 — "A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up..."
Esth 4:14 — "if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place"
Amos 5:13 — "the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time"
Psa 119:126 — "It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יוֹם (yôwm)	H3117	45x (17%)	"that day" parallels "that time" in prophetic speech
בּוֹא (bôwʼ)	H935	52x (20%)	"the time is come" / "come at that time"
עַל (ʻal)	H5921	49x (19%)	prepositional phrase "upon / at the time"
כֹּל (kôl)	H3605	63x (24%)	"at all times" / "every time / purpose"
עַד (ʻad)	H5704	30x (12%)	"until the time" / duration to the appointed point
נָתַן (nâthan)	H5414	29x (11%)	"given at the time" / divine provision at appointed moment
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	32x (12%)	"at the time when kings..." / royal narrative formula
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	72x (28%)	"the time appointed by YHWH" / divine timing

Word Family / Cognates¶

H5732 עִדָּן (ʻiddân) — Aramaic cognate: "time, season" (Dan 2–7); identical semantic range in Aramaic portions of Daniel

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H6256.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H6256.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
יוֹם (yôwm)	H3117	both → "time"	yôwm = a day / a specific day event; ʻêth = a point or period in time
מוֹעֵד (môwʻêd)	H4150	both → "season / in the time"	môwʻêd = a fixed, announced, recurring appointment (festivals, assemblies); ʻêth = a general time/moment
פַּעַם (paʻam)	H6471	both → "times"	paʻam = occurrence/repetition count ("three times"); ʻêth = a designated temporal point
זְמָן (zᵉmân)	H2165/H2166	both → "time / season"	zᵉmân = administrative/calendrical appointment (late Hebrew/Aramaic); ʻêth = broader narrative/prophetic usage
עִדָּן (ʻiddân)	H5732	both → "time / a time / times"	ʻiddân = Aramaic form (Daniel 2–7 only); functionally equivalent to ʻêth in its contexts

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002002002010] Time — the primary time-reference field returned by search_relationships.py.
[002] Events — broader event language linked to times and occasions.
[002002003003] Happen — occurrence/coming-to-pass overlap in temporal settings.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
καιρός (kairós) G2540	175x	30.88	Primary — "set/proper time, occasion"; by far dominant rendering
ὥρα (hṓra) G5610	24x	18.30	Secondary — "hour, period"; for time-of-day and short intervals
εὐκαιρία (eukairía) G2120	3x	9.05	"favorable opportunity" — wisdom/ethics contexts
χρόνος (chrónos) G5550	7x	7.33	"span of time, duration" — when ʻêth marks a longer period

The overwhelming choice of καιρός over χρόνος by the LXX translators carries the Hebrew sense of time as qualitatively defined occasion into Greek, where καιρός = the right moment, and χρόνος = mere duration.