1 Chronicles 21:3:191 Chr.21.3.W19TAB
לָ֛מָּה
lama
“why”
- Transliteration
- la-MA
- Extended
- laa-MAA
- IPA
- /laːmˈmaː/
Meaning by language
- English
- why
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
la-MA
- clause
la-MA ye-vak-KESH ZOT a-do-NI la-MA yih-ye le-ash-MA le-yis-ra-EL
- sentence
va-yo-MER yo-AV yo-SEF ye-ho-VAH al-AM-mo ka-HEM me-A fe-a-MIM ha-LO a-do-NI ha-ME-lekh ku-LAM la-do-NI la-va-DIM la-MA ye-vak-KESH ZOT a-do-NI la-MA yih-ye le-ash-MA le-yis-ra-EL
Exegesis
The interrogatives hă-lōʾ {הֲלֹא | hă-lōʾ} and lā-māh {לָמָּה | lā-māh} structure a rhetorical objection, first noting servant status in ʼă-ḏō-nî ham-mé-lekh kul-lām la-ʼă-ḏō-nî la-ʿă-ḇā-ḏîm {אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ כֻּלָּם לַאֲדֹנִי לַעֲבָדִים} and then warning in yiḥ-yēh lə-ʼaš-māh {יִהְיֶה לְאַשְׁמָה} “should it be for guilt.” The progression from blessing to caution mirrors the Hebrew clause order, preserving rhetorical drive and thematic contrast.
In context — 1 Chronicles 21:3
And Joab said, “May the LORD add to His people a hundredfold. My lord the king, are they not all servants to my lord? Why does my lord seek this? Why should it become guilt for Israel?”
About this coordinate
1 Chronicles 21:3:19 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 19 of 1 Chronicles 21:3, so the Hebrew word לָ֛מָּה (lama) can be cited, linked and studied at exactly this position rather than somewhere in the verse. In the Biblical Knowledge Coordinate System the same position is written 1 Chr.21.3.W19, which extends further down to each syllable (1 Chr.21.3.W19.S1) and character.