נחנו

From Proto-Semitic *niḥnu. Relationship with אֲנַחְנוּ disputed,

• According to Ibn Ezra, the original/archaic form of אֲנַחְנוּ.
• According to BDB, an abbreviated form of אֲנַחְנוּ.
• Others suggest נַחְנוּ is a dialectal or poetic variant.

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ˈnaχ.nu/
• (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ˈnaħ.nuː/
• (Biblical Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ˈnaħ.nuː/

נַחְנוּ • (nákhnu) m pl or f pl

1. (biblical, rare, archaic, obsolete, poetic, dialectal) We; the subject form of the first-person plural personal pronoun.
   • Tanach, Numbers 32:32, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     נַ֣חְנוּ נַעֲבֹ֧ר חֲלוּצִ֛ים לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן וְאִתָּ֙נוּ֙ אֲחֻזַּ֣ת נַחֲלָתֵ֔נוּ מֵעֵ֖בֶר לַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃

     nákhnu na'avór khalutzím li'fné YHWH éretz k'na'án v'itánu akhuzát nakhalaténu me'éver la'yardén.

     We ourselves will cross over as shock-troops, at the instance of the LORD, into the land of Canaan; and we shall keep our hereditary holding across the Jordan.”

     • 590 BCE, “Letter #4”, in Lachish letters:

       𐤅𐤉𐤃𐤏𐤟𐤊𐤉𐤟𐤀𐤋𐤟𐤌𐤔𐤀𐤕 𐤋𐤊𐤔𐤟𐤍𐤇𐤍𐤅𐤟𐤔𐤌𐤓𐤌𐤟𐤊𐤊𐤋𐤟𐤄𐤀𐤕𐤕𐤟𐤀𐤔𐤓𐤟𐤍𐤕𐤍𐤟𐤀𐤃𐤍𐤉𐤟𐤊𐤉𐤟𐤋𐤀𐤟𐤍𐤓𐤀𐤄𐤟𐤀𐤕 𐤏𐤆𐤒𐤄

       wydʿ ky ʾl mšʾt lkš nḥnw šmrm kkl hʾtt ʾšr ntn ʾdny ky lʾ nrʾh ʾt ʿzqh
       וידע כי אל משאת לכש נחנו שמרם ככל האתת אשר נתן אדני כי לא נראה את עזקה

       And may he (my lord) be apprised that we are watching for the fire signals of Lachish according to all the signs which my lord has given, because we cannot see Azeqah.

• נָחְנוּ (nâħnû)

• H5168 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible