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ʿaḏ-māṯay (עַד־מָתַי) "How Long?" — Interrogative Lament Construction (Hebrew)

Definition

Fixed compound interrogative preposition עַד "until" + temporal interrogative מָתַי "when" (ETCBC parses מָתַי as Introg, glossed "when"; עַד as Prep, glossed "unto"), functioning idiomatically as "until when? / how long?" It asks for the endurance-limit / terminus ad quem of an ongoing trial, oppression, delay, or divine silence. The sister form עַד־אָנָה (preposition עַד + locative-temporal interrogative אָנָה "whither / until where") carries the same semantic force in psalm-lament register (Psa 13:2 [MT]; cf. Hab 1:2).

  1. Lament / complaint — sufferer (human or prophet) asks God how long the affliction must continue
  2. Impatience / rebuke — speaker (human or divine) asks an addressee how long the offending behavior will persist
  3. Oracular / angelic query — heavenly being asks YHWH how long a decreed judgment will remain in force — the question that triggers a time-answer

Form Recognition

  • Two-word maqqef-bound compound: עַד־מָתַי (sometimes unbound עַד מָתַי); variant עַד־אָנָה
  • First word parses Prep (lemma עד); second word parses Introg (lemma מתי, H4970, or אן, H575)
  • Always clause-initial or near-initial in direct speech
  • Parser search: hebrew_parser.py --lemma "מתי" returns 28 instances of the interrogative (the lemma also surfaces as proper-name homographs Amittai, Hamathite — filter by parsing tag Introg)
  • KJV diagnostic: invariably rendered "How long…?" — the English idiom is a near-perfect calque

Functions with Examples

1. Lament-Psalm Complaint (sufferer → YHWH)

The voice is the afflicted worshiper; the addressee is YHWH; the expected answer is relief / intervention. The fourfold repetition in Psa 13 uses the variant עַד־אָנָה.

Reference Hebrew Parsing KJV
Psa 6:4 [MT] / 6:3 [Eng] וְאַתָּה יְהוָה עַד־מָתָי Prep + Introg "but thou, O LORD, how long?"
Psa 13:2 [MT] / 13:1 [Eng] עַד־אָנָה יְהוָה תִּשְׁכָּחֵנִי … עַד־אָנָה תַּסְתִּיר Prep + Introg (×2) + Qal.Impf.2ms "How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? … how long wilt thou hide thy face"
Psa 74:10 עַד־מָתַי אֱלֹהִים יְחָרֶף צָר Prep + Introg + Piel.Impf.3ms "O God, how long shall the adversary reproach?"
Psa 80:5 [MT] / 80:4 עַד־מָתַי עָשַׁנְתָּ Prep + Introg + Qal.Perf.2ms "how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?"
Psa 90:13 שׁוּבָה יְהוָה עַד־מָתָי Qal.Impv.2ms + Prep + Introg "Return, O LORD, how long?"
Psa 94:3 עַד־מָתַי רְשָׁעִים יְהוָה Prep + Introg + Noun.mp.Abs "LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?"

2. Impatience / Rebuke (speaker → offending addressee)

The speaker (YHWH, prophet, ruler) addresses a party whose behavior is delinquent. Expected answer is cessation / repentance.

Reference Hebrew Parsing KJV
Exo 10:3 עַד־מָתַי מֵאַנְתָּ לֵעָנֹת Prep + Introg + Piel.Perf.2ms "How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself?"
1 Sa 16:1 עַד־מָתַי אַתָּה מִתְאַבֵּל Prep + Introg + PersPron.2ms + Hithpael.Ptcp.ms "How long wilt thou mourn for Saul?"
1 Ki 18:21 עַד־מָתַי אַתֶּם פֹּסְחִים Prep + Introg + PersPron.2mp + Qal.Ptcp.mp "How long halt ye between two opinions?"
Jer 4:14 עַד־מָתַי תָּלִין בְּקִרְבֵּךְ Prep + Introg + Qal.Impf.3fs "How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?"
Jer 23:26 עַד־מָתַי הֲיֵשׁ Prep + Introg + Introg.+Part "How long shall [this] be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies?"
Psa 82:2 עַד־מָתַי תִּשְׁפְּטוּ־עָוֶל Prep + Introg + Qal.Impf.2mp "How long will ye judge unjustly…?"

3. Prophetic / Oracular Query (prophet or angel → YHWH) — Oracle-Triggering

A prophet or heavenly being asks YHWH how long a decreed condition will hold. Distinctively, the question triggers a bounded answer — the ʿaḏ-māṯay question opens a lock to which YHWH's subsequent ʿaḏ-X answer is the key. Dan 8:13–14 is the paradigm of this function.

Reference Hebrew Parsing KJV
Isa 6:11 עַד־מָתַי אֲדֹנָי Prep + Introg + Noun.ms.Abs "Lord, how long? And he answered, Until [עַד אֲשֶׁר] the cities be wasted…"
Hab 2:6 עַד־מָתַי Prep + Introg "…woe to him that increaseth [that which is] not his! how long?"
Zech 1:12 עַד־מָתַי אַתָּה לֹא־תְרַחֵם Prep + Introg + PersPron.2ms + Neg + Piel.Impf.2ms "O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem…?"
Dan 8:13 עַד־מָתַי הֶחָזוֹן הַתָּמִיד וְהַפֶּשַׁע שֹׁמֵם Prep + Introg + Art+Noun + Art+Noun + Conj+Art+Noun + Qal.Ptcp.ms "How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily, and the transgression of desolation…?"
Jer 47:5 [MT] / 47:6 [Eng frame] עַד־מָתַי תִּתְגֹּודָדִי Prep + Introg + Hithpael.Impf.2fs "how long wilt thou cut thyself?" (sword-of-YHWH taunt)

4. The Lock-and-Key Syntax: ʿaḏ-māṯay Question → ʿaḏ-X Answer

The distinctive apocalyptic deployment of ʿaḏ-māṯay is not the question per se but the paired syntactic frame in which the same preposition עַד recurs in the answer, binding question to answer across speaker turns. The question asks "until when?"; the answer supplies "until X [time-unit / event]." Parser-verified pairings:

Question Answer Shared Preposition
Dan 8:13 עַד־מָתַי הֶחָזוֹן Dan 8:14 עַד עֶרֶב בֹּקֶר אַלְפַּיִם וּשְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת עַד … עַד
Isa 6:11a עַד־מָתַי אֲדֹנָי Isa 6:11b עַד אֲשֶׁר אִם־שָׁאוּ עָרִים עַד … עַד (אֲשֶׁר)
Zech 1:12 עַד־מָתַי אַתָּה לֹא־תְרַחֵם … זֶה שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה Zech 1:16 לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר יְהוָה שַׁבְתִּי (answer in promise-oracle form)

In Dan 8:13–14 the lock-and-key is at maximum tightness: no intervening narrative, direct speaker-turn, identical preposition עַד re-used as the head of the answer. The 2,300 evenings-mornings of Dan 8:14 is grammatically the object of the question's interrogative adverb — syntactically, v.14 completes v.13.

Form Function Example
עַד־מָתַי "until when?" (temporal endurance) Dan 8:13; Psa 6:4
עַד־אָנָה "until whither / how long?" (variant, same function) Psa 13:2; Hab 1:2 (MT)
כַּמָּה "how much / how many?" (quantity, not duration) 2 Sa 19:35; Job 13:23
מָתַי alone "when?" (simple temporal question, no endurance force) Gen 30:30; Psa 42:3 "when shall I come and appear"
לָמָּה / מַדּוּעַ "why?" (causal interrogative, not temporal) Exo 5:22; Jer 12:1
עַד + noun (declarative) "until X" (endpoint of an action, no interrogation) Dan 8:14 עַד עֶרֶב בֹּקֶר; Dan 7:25 עַד־עִדָּן וְעִדָּנִין וּפְלַג עִדָּן

The question-form עַד־מָתַי and the answer-form עַד + time-unit share the preposition עַד deliberately — this is the grammatical hinge of apocalyptic time-prophecy. Cross-linked to apocalyptic-time-unit-grammar (the Dan 8:14 ʿereḇ bōqer counter itself) and seal-command-syntax-daniel (the deferred-disclosure frame into which the answer is sealed).

Distribution

  • 28 occurrences of מָתַי as Introg (hebrew_parser.py --lemma "מתי"; filter out proper-name homographs Amittai at 2Ki 14:25, Jon 1:1 and gentilic Hamathite at Gen 10:18)
  • Concentrated in Psalms (7×: 6:4, 41:6, 74:10, 80:5, 82:2, 90:13, 94:3, 119:84), Jeremiah (5×: 4:14, 4:21, 12:4, 13:27, 23:26, 31:22, 47:5), and Daniel (1×: 8:13 — a single canonical occurrence, matching the one-time-only apocalyptic lock-and-key)
  • Speakers: human sufferer (psalmists), YHWH (Exo 10:3; Num 14:27), prophet (Isa 6:11; Hab 2:6), angel (Zech 1:12; Dan 8:13), non-Israelite (Abner 2 Sa 2:26)

Common Collocations in This Form

Collocation Pattern Example
עַד־מָתַי + Divine-name vocative interrogative + vocative Psa 6:4 עַד־מָתָי + יְהוָה
עַד־מָתַי + PersPron.2 + Ptcp interrogative + personal pronoun + participle 1 Ki 18:21 עַד־מָתַי אַתֶּם פֹּסְחִים
עַד־מָתַי + Noun + Ptcp interrogative + nominalized vision-object + descriptive participle Dan 8:13 עַד־מָתַי הֶחָזוֹן … שֹׁמֵם
Question עַד־מָתַי ‖ Answer עַד X paired-preposition lock-and-key Dan 8:13 ‖ 8:14; Isa 6:11a ‖ 6:11b

Generated from: hebrew_parser.py (--lemma "מתי", --verse "Dan 8:13", --verse "Dan 8:14", --verse "Psa 13:2"); KJV text D:/bible/tools/data/kjv.txt Parser-verified references: Dan 8:13; 8:14; Psa 6:4; 13:2; 74:10; 80:5; 82:2; 94:3; Exo 10:3; 1 Ki 18:21; Isa 6:11; Hab 2:6; Zech 1:12; Jer 4:14; 23:26; 47:5 Last updated: 2026-04-19