1 Kings 15:20:11 Kgs.15.20.W1TAB
וַיִּשְׁמַ֨ע
vayishma
“and he listened”
- Transliteration
- va-yish-MA
- Extended
- vah-yihsh-MAH
- IPA
- /vaj.jiʃˈmaʕ/
Meaning by language
- English
- and he listened
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal |
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The word
Word in context
- word
va-yish-MA
- phraseyour reading level
va-yish-MA ben-ha-DAD
- clause
va-yish-MA ben-ha-DAD el-ha-ME-lekh a-SA va-yish-LAKH et-sa-RE ha-kha-ya-LIM a-SHER-lo al-a-RE yis-ra-EL va-YAKH et-i-YON ve-et-DAN ve-ET a-VEL BET-ma-a-KHA
- sentence
va-yish-MA ben-ha-DAD el-ha-ME-lekh a-SA va-yish-LAKH et-sa-RE ha-kha-ya-LIM a-SHER-lo al-a-RE yis-ra-EL va-YAKH et-i-YON ve-et-DAN ve-ET a-VEL BET-ma-a-KHA ve-ET kal-kin-ROT AL kal-E-rets naf-ta-LI
Exegesis
The verse begins with the vav-consecutive narrative verb wayyishma {וַיִּשְׁמַ֨ע | wayyišma‘} ‘and he heard,’ marking sequential progression.
Root and etymology
Rootshin–mem–ayin
“to hear, pay attention”
In context — 1 Kings 15:20
Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa and sent his commanders against the cities of Israel; they struck Iyon, Dan, Abel Beth-Maacah, and all Kinnereth , throughout the land of Naphtali.
About this coordinate
1 Kings 15:20:1 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 1 of 1 Kings 15:20, so the Hebrew word וַיִּשְׁמַ֨ע (vayishma) 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 Kgs.15.20.W1, which extends further down to each syllable (1 Kgs.15.20.W1.S1) and character.