Lo (לֹא, Strong's H3808) is a Hebrew word. Strong's defines it as not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles. The King James Bible translates it as × before, or else, ere, except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (× as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, surely, as truly as, of a truth, verily, for want, whether, without.

What is the Strong's number for Lo?

The Strong's number for Lo (לֹא) is H3808. It is a Hebrew word from Strong's public-domain dictionary keyed to the King James Bible.

Bible word study

Lo (Strong’s H3808): Meaning in the Bible

Lo (לֹא) is the Hebrew word numbered H3808 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles. In the King James Bible it is translated or else, ere, except, ig(-norant), much.

לֹא

lôʼ · Hebrew

Strong’s H3808 · lo

Original wordלֹא
Transliterationlôʼ
Pronunciationlo
Part of speechadverb (adv)
Strong’s numberH3808
LanguageHebrew

The full Strong’s definition

not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles

Derivation. or לוֹא; or לֹה; (Deuteronomy 3:11), a primitive particle;

How the King James Bible translates it

× before, or else, ere, except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (× as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, surely, as truly as, of a truth, verily, for want, whether, without. (The × marks places where the word shapes the phrasing rather than being rendered by a single English word.)

Where Lo appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Lo (H3808) stands behind 73 English renderings in 70 verses across 23 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Genesis (17), Numbers (6), Isaiah (6).

How the King James Bible renders Lo, by count

not18 of 73 (25 percent)
no7 of 73 (10 percent)
never5 of 73 (7 percent)
without5 of 73 (7 percent)
neither4 of 73 (5 percent)
none4 of 73 (5 percent)

Three places to read Lo

Genesis 2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
Numbers 14:28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
Job 39:16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;

Counts are made at build time from the King James text tagged with Strong’s numbers (eBible.org, public domain). Verses are read from the stored King James text, never typed.

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Lo in the original Hebrew lets you read the passages where it appears more carefully, closer to what the first hearers understood, so the meaning is drawn from the text itself rather than from the English alone.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

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