Hebrew

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /pen/

Conjunction

פֶּן • ‎(pen)

1. Lest, [ in order] that … not, for otherwise; used in constructing warnings.
   • Exodus 20:19, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה דַּבֵּר־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּ֖נוּ וְנִשְׁמָ֑עָה וְאַל־יְדַבֵּ֥ר עִמָּ֛נוּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים פֶּן־נָמֽוּת׃‎

     vayom'rú 'el-moshé dabér-'atá 'imánu v'nishmá'a v'al-y'dabér 'imánu 'elohím pen-namút.

     And they said unto Moses: 'Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.'

   • Jeremiah 6:8, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     הִוָּֽסְרִי֙ יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם פֶּן־תֵּקַ֥ע נַפְשִׁ֖י מִמֵּ֑ךְ פֶּן־אֲשִׂימֵ֣ךְ שְׁמָמָ֔ה אֶ֖רֶץ ל֥וֹא נוֹשָֽׁבָה׃‎

     hivasrí y'rushalám pen-teiká nafshí mimékh, pen-asimékh sh'mamá éretz lo noshavá.

     Be thou corrected, O Jerusalem, lest My soul be alienated from thee, lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.

Synonyms

• שֶׁמָּא ‎(shema)

Usage notes

• As may be seen in the quotation above, in the Masoretic tradition this conjunction is attached to the following word with a hyphen (or more properly a maqaf).
• The clause introduced by פן is nearly always in the future tense (imperfect aspect, prefix conjugation).

Etymology 2

Noun

פָּן • ‎(pán) m ‎(plural indefinite פָּנִים)

1. aspect

See also

• אופן ‎(ófen, “way, manner”)
• אַסְפֶּקְט ‎(ás'pek't)
• בְּחִינָה ‎(b'khína)

Etymology 3

From German Föhn ‎(“hair dryer”), from Vulgar Latin *faōnius, from Latin Favōnius ‎(“Favonius”), a Roman wind god.

Noun

פֶן • ‎(fen) m

1. hair dryer (device for drying hair)

References

• “H6435”, in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979