Before
נֵכַחStrong’s H5227nekhach (ne-khach)
Appears in 24 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Nekhach is the Hebrew word usually translated “before”, “opposite to” and “opposite”. It appears in 24 verses of the Old Testament.
“And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.”
Meaning
- Be in front of
- In front of, opposite to, in the sight of, before, to the front, right on
- Towards the front of, in front of, on behalf of, as far as in front of
How it's translated
- before 11
- opposite to 5
- opposite 5
- to before 2
- opposite it 2
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Ezekiel 5
- Exodus 3
- Judges 3
- Genesis 2
- Joshua 2
- 1 Kings 2
12 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Genesis 30:38And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.
- Exodus 14:2Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.
- Exodus 26:35And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.
- Exodus 40:24And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.
- Numbers 19:4And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:
- Joshua 15:7And the border went up toward Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is before the going up to Adummim, which is on the south side of the river: and the border passed toward the waters of Enshemesh, and the goings out thereof were at Enrogel:
Hebrew dictionary
נֵכַח nekhach · before
subst 1) be in front of adv 2) in front of, opposite to, in the sight of, before, to the front, right on prep 3) towards the front of, in front of, on behalf of, as far as in front of
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “before” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
BEFO'RE, preposition
[be and fore, that is by fore, near the fore part.]
- In front; on the side with the face, at any distance; used of persons.
- In presence of, with the idea of power, authority, respect.“Abraham bowed before the people of the land” Genesis 23:12“Wherewithal shall I come before the Lord” Micah 2:13
- In sight of; as before the face.
- In the presence of, noting cognizance of jurisdiction.
All definitions and other forms of “before”
- In the power of, noting the right or ability to choose or possess; free to the choice.“My land is before thee” Genesis 20:15
- In front of any object; as before the house; before the fire.
- Preceding in time.“Before I was afflicted, I went astray” Psalms 119:67“Before Abraham was, I am” John 8:58
- In preference to.
- Superior; preceding in dignity.
- Prior to; having prior right; preceding in order; as, the eldest son is before the younger in succession.
- Previous to; in previous order; in order to.
- before the wind, is to move in the direction of the wind by its impulse.
BEFO'RE, adverb
In time preceding.
- In time preceding, to the present, or to this time; hitherto; as, tumults then arose which before were unknown.
- Further onward in place, in progress, or in front.“Reaching forth to those things which are before” Philippians 3:13
- In front; on the fore part.“The battle was before and behind” 2 Chronicles 13:14
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.