# 与 in the Bible: 2,572 Occurrences, Three Jobs

> 与 occurs 2,572 times in the Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified), joining nouns, marking accompaniment and — often enough that the site will not publish a construction count — standing in for to.

**Pattern:** noun + 与 + noun
**HSK level:** 6 — the highest HSK level of the point's own function words, as data/dict.json grades them; a word the HSK lists do not grade sends the point to 'beyond'
**Rule used to find it:** 与 with a word on each side inside the clause.
**Confidence:** unmeasured — 30 of 2,130 matches checked, 67% correct, by Claude Opus 5, reading each sampled clause in context; not a native speaker

与 is and between nouns — 殿与王宫, the temple and the palace — and with before a verb: 与他们说话, spoke with them. The spoken 跟 that an HSK 1 course teaches for this is almost absent from the translation, and 和 shares the work.

The Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified) uses 与 2,572 times. How many of those are this construction is exactly what could not be established.

The site does not publish a count for this construction. Its rule — 与 with a word on each side inside the clause. — was checked against 30 of its matches and 67% of them were right, which is not enough to print a number.

The reason for that missing number is itself the interesting part. A large share of 与 in this text is neither and nor with but to: 赐福与你, blessed you; 归与那不能朽坏的, to him who is incorruptible. That is a third use, common enough to break any simple rule, and the checked sample below shows how it falls out.

## Examples

- **Job 33:6** — 我在 神面前与你一样， 也是用土造成。
  - wǒ zài   shén miàn qián yǔ nǐ yí yàng ，  yě shì yòng tǔ zào chéng 。
  - Behold, I am toward God even as you are. I am also formed out of the clay.
  - construction: 与你
- **Proverbs 3:15** — 比珍珠 宝贵； 你一切所喜爱的，都不足与比较。
  - bǐ zhēn zhū   bǎo guì ；  nǐ yí qiè suǒ xǐ ài de ， dōu bù zú yǔ bǐ jiào 。
  - She is more precious than rubies. None of the things you can desire are to be compared to her.
  - construction: 与比较
- **1 Kings 1:14** — 你还与王说话的时候，我也随后进去，证实你的话。」
  - nǐ hái yǔ wáng shuō huà de shí hou ， wǒ yě suí hòu jìn qù ， zhèng shí nǐ de huà 。」
  - Behold, while you are still talking there with the king, I will also come in after you and confirm your words.”
  - construction: 与王
- **1 Thessalonians 5:10** — 他替我们死，叫我们无论醒着，睡着，都与他同活。
  - tā tì wǒ men sǐ ， jiào wǒ men wú lùn xǐng zhe ， shuì zháo ， dōu yǔ tā tóng huó 。
  - who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
  - construction: 与他
- **John 14:25** — 「我还与你们同住的时候，已将这些话对你们说了。
  - 「 wǒ hái yǔ nǐ men tóng zhù de shí hou ， yǐ jiāng zhè xiē huà duì nǐ men shuō le 。
  - “I have said these things to you while still living with you.
  - construction: 与你们
- **Romans 1:12** — 这样，我在你们中间，因你与我彼此的信心，就可以同得安慰。
  - zhè yàng ， wǒ zài nǐ men zhōng jiān ， yīn nǐ yǔ wǒ bǐ cǐ de xìn xīn ， jiù kě yǐ tóng dé ān wèi 。
  - that is, that I with you may be encouraged in you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
  - construction: 与我

## The words this point is built on

| Word | Reading | HSK | Occurrences |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 与 | yǔ | 6 | 2,572 |

The HSK column is the level data/dict.json gives the word, and it is what puts this point at level 6.

## Where it occurs most

| Book | Clauses |
| --- | --- |
| Genesis | 141 |
| Ezekiel | 138 |
| Deuteronomy | 113 |
| 2 Chronicles | 107 |
| Jeremiah | 98 |

Counted from what the rule matched, before the audit — a ranking, not a published total.

## Words the 和合本 uses in the same slot

| Word | Reading | HSK | Occurrences | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 和 | hé | 1 | 5,249 | the ordinary modern conjunction, also common here |
| 同 | tóng | 6 | 731 | 'together with', before a verb |
| 跟 | gēn | 1 | 26 | the spoken form taught at HSK 1 |

The candidates are chosen by hand; the counts are measured, and a candidate the corpus cannot illustrate with a real verse is left out. No claim is made that they are interchangeable.

## Questions

**When should I use 与 rather than 和?**

In writing, and between balanced nouns. 和 is the ordinary conjunction and is also common here; 与 is the more formal of the two and carries the comitative with more readily.

**How often does it occur in the Chinese Bible?**

Its markers occur 2,572 times in the Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified). How many of those are this construction is not something the site can measure honestly, so it does not claim a figure.

**Which book of the Bible uses it most?**

Genesis, with 141 — followed by Ezekiel (138), Deuteronomy (113), 2 Chronicles (107).

**How do you know the count is right?**

The site does not publish a count for this construction. Its rule — 与 with a word on each side inside the clause. — was checked against 30 of its matches and 67% of them were right, which is not enough to print a number.

Page: https://chinese-bible.com/en/grammar/yu-coordination

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