אֲלוּ

# Analysis of אֲלוּ (alu) The Hebrew word אֲלוּ (alu) is an interjection that functions as an exclamatory particle meaning "behold." Its primary purpose is to draw urgent attention to something, functioning similarly to modern English expressions like "look!" or "see!" The word operates at the discourse level rather than the semantic level, serving to direct the listener's focus toward what follows. With only two documented occurrences in the Hebrew Bible, אֲלוּ appears to be a relatively rare word. This limited frequency prevents detailed analysis of contextual variation or development of meaning across different biblical texts. The rarity itself suggests this may have been either an archaic form, a specialized register of Hebrew, or simply an alternative to more common attention-drawing particles that were preferred by biblical authors and editors. The word's classification as an interjection—rather than a verb, noun, or other part of speech—marks it as belonging to a category of words that express emotion or command attention rather than convey concrete meaning. Its translation as "behold" places it among similar Hebrew particles used throughout biblical narrative and poetry to signal moments requiring the audience's focused attention.