1 Samuel 14:35:61 Sam.14.35.W6TAB
הֵחֵ֔ל
hekhel
“he began”
- Transliteration
- he-KHEL
- Extended
- hee-KHEEL
- IPA
- /heːˈħeːl/
Meaning by language
- English
- he began
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Chet | ch — deep guttural, as in Scottish loch | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Lamed | l as in law |
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The word
Word in context
- word
he-KHEL
- phraseyour reading level
o-TO he-KHEL
- clause
o-TO he-KHEL liv-NOT miz-BE-akh la-ye-ho-VAH
- sentence
va-yi-VEN sha-UL miz-BE-akh la-ye-ho-VAH o-TO he-KHEL liv-NOT miz-BE-akh la-ye-ho-VAH
Exegesis
The verb hechel {הֵחֵ֔ל | hē·ḥêl} ‘he began’ introduces a new action, with the infinitive construct livnot {לִבְנ֥וֹת | li·v·nōṯ} ‘to build’ indicating purpose and incomplete aspect. The repetition of mizbeach laYHWH forms an inclusio that underlines the primacy of this cultic act. The lamed preposition conveys directionality, rendered in English by ‘to’ in the formal and ‘for’ in the dynamic reconstructions. Together, these elements emphasize the inaugural nature of Saul’s altar-building initiative.
Root and etymology
ḥ-l-lḥet–lamed–lamed
“to begin, commence”
In context — 1 Samuel 14:35
And Saul built an altar to the LORD ; it was the first altar that he began to build to the LORD.
About this coordinate
1 Samuel 14:35:6 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 6 of 1 Samuel 14:35, so the Hebrew word הֵחֵ֔ל (hekhel) 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 Sam.14.35.W6, which extends further down to each syllable (1 Sam.14.35.W6.S1) and character.