BIBLE HEBREW WORD STUDY
H1930 — הוֹ (hôw) in the Bible
H1930 is a Hebrew interjection expressing 'oh!' or 'alas!', used to convey dismay, grief, or alarm in speech.
Meaning of the word
The lexicon entry for H1930 glosses the word as 'oh!', with an extended meaning of 'alas!' or 'ah!'. The KJV usage note records it as 'alas.' Together these frame הוֹ as a brief, emotionally charged interjection rather than a noun or verb with propositional content.
Because it is an interjection, הוֹ does not describe a state or perform an action on its own; it accompanies speech and gives tone to what is said. The sense is one of lament, dismay, or urgent feeling — the kind of utterance that in English might be rendered 'alas', 'oh no', or 'woe'.
Usage in Scripture
The lexical record supplied for H1930 lists 568 occurrences across 486 verses. However, the example verses provided with this entry all show the form הוּ functioning as a pronominal suffix meaning 'their', 'its', or 'him' — not as the interjection. A reader should therefore be cautious: the supplied sample passages do not actually illustrate the interjection sense; they illustrate a homograph that confuses searches for H1930.
In normal biblical usage, an interjection like הוֹ appears in speech frames — prophets, psalmists, or narrators voicing a cry of grief or warning. Because the supplied examples do not include such a passage, the page limits concrete illustration to the lexical glosses themselves.
The word in detail
- H1930 H1930 is the interjection הוֹ (hôw), glossed 'oh!' / 'alas!' / 'ah!' and rendered 'alas' in the KJV usage note. It is a short emotional utterance, not a lexical noun or verb, and must be distinguished from the look-alike form הוּ used as a pronoun suffix.
Example verses
- Genesis 1:12 In this verse the form הוּ is a pronominal suffix ('their'), not the interjection H1930. It is included here because the supplied examples all share this form, so a reader searching for H1930 will encounter homographs like this one.
- Genesis 2:15 Here הוּ is again a pronominal suffix meaning 'him' ('put him into the garden'). It does not illustrate the lament interjection H1930.
- Genesis 4:8 The form הוּ here is the suffix 'him' in 'slew him'. The verse does contain an act of violence, but the supplied Hebrew form is pronominal, not the interjection.
- Genesis 7:14 In this verse הוּ functions as the pronoun suffix 'its' ('after its kind'), which is the same homograph that complicates searches for the interjection H1930.
Common questions
What does H1930 mean?
H1930 is the Hebrew interjection הוֹ (hôw), glossed 'oh!', 'alas!', or 'ah!' and recorded in the KJV usage note as 'alas'. It is a brief emotional utterance, not a descriptive term.
Why do the example verses show 'their', 'its', or 'him' instead of an exclamation?
The supplied examples all use the form הוּ as a pronominal suffix, not the interjection הוֹ. The two are homographs, and the provided verses illustrate the suffix use, not the lament cry of H1930.
How should I treat H1930 when I meet it in the biblical text?
Treat it as a short cry of grief, dismay, or alarm ('oh!', 'alas!'), and check the consonants carefully so as not to confuse it with the pronoun suffix spelled הוּ.