אמש

Hebrew

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *mušy-.

Pronunciation

• (Biblical Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʔamʃ/
• (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ˈʔɛ.mɛʃ/, [ˈʔɛː.mɛʃ]
• (Yemenite Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ˈʔa.maʃ/, [ˈʔæː.mæʃ]
• (Persian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ˈ(ʔ)e.meʃ/
• (Ashkenazi Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.mɛʃ/
• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ˈ(ʔ)e.meʃ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adverb

אֶמֶשׁ • (émesh) (plural אֲמָשִׁים)

1. (formal) last night
   • Tanach, Genesis 19:34, with translation of the New International Version:

     וַֽיְהִי מִמָּחֳרָת וַתֹּאמֶר הַבְּכִירָה אֶל־הַצְּעִירָה הֵן־שָׁכַבְתִּי אֶמֶשׁ אֶת־אָבִי נַשְׁקֶנּוּ יַיִן גַּם־הַלַּיְלָה וּבֹאִי שִׁכְבִי עִמּוֹ וּנְחַיֶּה מֵאָבִינוּ זָֽרַע

     The next day the older daughter said to the younger, ' Last night I slept with my father. Let's get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.'

2. (formal) yesterday
3. (archaic) darkness, night

References

• Koehler, Ludwig, Walter, Baumgartner (1994–2000) The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, volume 1, Leiden: Brill