Before
קֳדָםStrong’s H6925qodam (qo-dam)
Appears in 38 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Qodam is the Aramaic word usually translated “before”, “before me” and “before him”. It appears in 38 verses of the Old Testament.
“But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.”
Meaning
- Before, in front ofbefore · from before
How it's translated
- before 20
- before me 8
- before him 7
- before it 3
- before you 2
- before them 1
- and before him 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Daniel 34
- Ezra 4
2 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Daniel 2:9In contextBut if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.
- Daniel 2:10In contextThe Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
- Daniel 2:11In contextAnd it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
- Daniel 2:15In contextHe answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
- Daniel 2:18In contextThat they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
- Daniel 2:24In contextTherefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.
Aramaic dictionary
קֳדָם qodam · before
1) before, in front of 1a) before 1b) from before
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 Aramaic, not from any one translation.