[a]  1. Besides the use of rhetorical questions (§§ 150 d, 151a), independent sentences are made negative by the adverbs לֹא (Jb 6²¹, where instead of the K^eth. לוֹ we must evidently read לֹא; perhaps preserved as a substantive) = the Greek οὐ, not, אַל־ = μή (Jb 24²⁵ as a substantive), אֵין (it is) not; טֶ֫רֶם not yet, אֶ֫פֶס not, אַפְסִי (cf. § 90 m) not. The forms בַּל, בְּלִי, בִּלְתִּי not belong almost entirely to poetry.—With regard to לֹא and אֵין the main distinction is that verbal-clauses (rarely noun-clauses, see e) are regularly negatived by לֹא (besides its use as negativing single words^[1]), while אֵין is used exclusively with noun-clauses (see the examples below).

 [b]  The conjunctions פֶּן־ and לְבִלְתִּי that not, serve to negative dependent clauses. The particular uses of these particles are as follows:—

(a) לֹא (less frequently לוֹא), like οὐ, οὐκ, is used regularly for the objective, unconditional negation, and hence is usually connected with the perfect or imperfect (as indicative); on לֹא with the imperfect to express an unconditional prohibition, see § 107 o; on its use with the jussive, see § 109 d.—On לֹא for הֲלֹא nonne, in interrogative sentences, cf. § 150 a. In connexion with כֹּל, כָּל־ (= any), לֹא is used to express an absolute negation, nullus, none whatever (cf. the French ne... personne, ne... rien), usually in the order לֹא... כֹּל, e.g. Gn 3¹ לֹא תֹֽאכְלוּ מִכֹּל עֵץ הַגָּן ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden; 9:11, Ex 10¹⁵, 20¹⁰, Lv 7²³, Dt 8⁹, Jer 13⁷, 32¹⁷ (לֹא... כָּל־דָּבָר nothing at all; cf. the same statement in the form of a rhetorical question, Jer 32²⁷); Pr 12²¹, 30³⁰

1. ↑ Especially in compounds, e.g. לֹא־אֵל lit. a no-God (Germ. Ungott)who is indeed called a god, but is not really a god, Dt 32²¹; לֹא אֱלֹהַּ verse 17, cf. Jer 5⁷, 2 Ch 13⁹; לֹא־עָם lit. a not-people (Germ. Unvolk), Dt 32²¹; לֹא דָבָר a nothing, Am 6¹³; לֹא עֵץ lit. not-wood, Is 10¹⁵; לֹא־אִישׁ, לֹֽא־אָדָם lit. not-man, superhuman (of God), Is 31⁸; לֹא־עֶ֫דֶק unrighteousness, Jer 22¹³, cf. Ez 22²⁹; לֹא־סְדָרִים disorder, Jb 10²²; לֹֽא־חָמָם not-violence, 16:17; after לְ Jb 26² f. (לֹא־כֹחַ, לֹא־עֹז helplessness, לֹא חָכְמָה insipientia); cf. also Is 55² בְּלוֹא לְשָׂבְעָה for what is unsatisfying; ψ 44¹³, Jb 8¹¹, 15³², 1 Ch 12³³.—In Nu 20⁵ a construct state with several genitives is negatived by לֹא.—Also לֹא is used with an infinitive, Nu 35²³; with an adjective, לֹא חָכָם unwise, Dt 32⁶, Ho 13¹³; לֹֽא־חָסִיד impius, ψ 43¹; לֹא־עָז and לֹֽא־עָצוּם not strong, Pr 30²⁵ f.; לֹא־כֵן unsuitably, 2 K 7⁹; לֹא־טוֹב not-good, Is 65², Ez 20²⁵, &c.; לֹא טָהוֹר not-clean, 2 Ch 30¹⁷; with a participle, e.g. Jer 2² (unsown); (6:8, Ez 4¹⁴, 22²⁴, Zn 2:1, 3:5; the Masora, however, requires נֻחָ֫מָה in Is 54¹¹, נֶֽעֱזָ֫בָה in 62:12, נוֹשָׁ֫בָה in Jer 6⁸, רֻחָ֫מָה in Ho 1⁶, i.e. always 3rd sing. fem. perf. in pause = she was not comforted, &c., and consequently not compounds, but either relative clauses or (Is 54¹¹, Ho 1⁶, and especially 2:25) main clauses instead of proper names.—On the above compounds generally, cf. the dissertation mentioned in § 81 d, note 2; on their use in sentences expressing a state, to convey attributive ideas, see u below.