meherah

מְהֵרָה

HebrewH4120“quickly, soon, ...”

Appears 20 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Num 16:46(17:11)Deu 11:17Jos 8:19Jos 10:6Jos 23:16Jdg 9:541Sa 20:382Sa 17:162Sa 17:182Sa 17:212Ki 1:11Psa 31:2(3)

Root family

maharמָהַרto hasten68H4116

Word studymeh-hay-RAHadverb

What meherah means

haste: the shortness of the time a thing takes or the time before it comes; used as an adverb, quickly or soon

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

Biblical Hebrew has a noun for haste, and this is it. The Bible almost never uses it as a plain noun, though. In all twenty places it appears in one unchanging form, dropped in beside a verb to say that no time was lost: Aaron is sent "quickly" into a plague-struck camp, the ambush at Ai springs "quickly" out of cover, and a captain relays the king's order for Elijah to come down "quickly."

The word pulls in two directions at once, and Hebrew does not make anyone choose between them:

the haste can be in the doing, as when David's men are told to get up and cross the water at once
the haste can be in the timing, as when grass is said to wither before long

English has to pick. That is why versions rotate among "quickly," "speedily," "soon," and "shortly" for one and the same Hebrew word, and why the choice quietly decides whether a verse sounds like a burst of speed or a short wait.

It keeps company with the other speed words, and writers stack them for force. Twice it stands beside the adjective for swift (קַל), and once Jonathan shouts it alongside the verb for hurrying (חוּשׁ) at a boy chasing arrows. It belongs to the family of the verb "to hurry" (מָהַר), which also produced the other common word for "quickly" (מַהֵר).

Nuances

1aquickly, at once: with no time lost in the doing, often in an urgent order or plea

TranslatabilityDirect

Num 16:46(17:11)Jos 8:19Jos 10:6Jdg 9:541Sa 20:382Sa 17:162Sa 17:182Sa 17:212Ki 1:11Psa 31:2(3)Psa 147:15Isa 5:26

1bsoon, before long: after only a short wait, whether the wait is dreaded or hoped for

Deu 11:17Jos 23:16Psa 37:2Ecc 4:12Ecc 8:11Isa 58:8Jer 27:16

Related words

The English words used to translate meherah

“quickly”

meherah2 distinctshared1quickly2 distinct

Only meherah

The Hebrew covers how soon a thing happens as readily as how fast it is done, so it can mark a short wait where the English word sounds like a burst of activity.Psa 37:2Ecc 8:11
It can be reinforced by a second speed word standing right beside it, a doubling that one English adverb cannot reproduce.Isa 5:26Jol 3:4

Both

Both say that almost no time separated the word from the deed.Jos 10:62Sa 17:16

Only quickly

In English the word points mainly at the pace of the action itself, so it reads as a description of how someone moved rather than of how much time passed.
It also tends to promise immediacy, so a warning rendered with it can sound like a fixed deadline.

“soon”

meherah2 distinctshared1soon1 distinct

Only meherah

The Hebrew also describes sheer speed of movement, which the English word cannot carry at all.Psa 147:15Isa 5:26
It works as a direct command telling someone to act now, where the English word could not stand.2Ki 1:11Jos 10:6

Both

Both mark a short interval before the thing arrives, whether it is dreaded or longed for.Psa 37:2Isa 58:8

Only soon

In English the word is only about when something happens and says nothing about how fast anything moves.

“speedily”