1 Samuel 16:23:31 Sam.16.23.W3TAB
רֽוּחַ־אֱלֹהִים֙
ruakhelohim
“a spirit of God”
- Transliteration
- RU-akh-e-lo-HIM
- Extended
- ROO-akh-eh-loh-HEEM
- IPA
- /ˈruː.aħ.ʔɛloˈhiːm/
Meaning by language
- English
- a spirit of God
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r | |
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Chet | ch — deep guttural, as in Scottish loch | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Hateph Seghol | reduced 'eh' | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Holem | long 'oh' as in go | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Mem Sofit | final form of Mem — at word end |
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Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
RU-akh-e-lo-HIM
- phraseyour reading level
bi-he-YOT RU-akh-e-lo-HIM
- clause
ve-ha-YA bi-he-YOT RU-akh-e-lo-HIM el-sha-UL ve-la-KHAKH da-VID et-ha-ki-NOR ve-ni-GEN be-ya-DO
- sentence
ve-ha-YA bi-he-YOT RU-akh-e-lo-HIM el-sha-UL ve-la-KHAKH da-VID et-ha-ki-NOR ve-ni-GEN be-ya-DO ve-ra-VAKH le-sha-UL ve-TOV LO ve-sa-RA me-a-LAV RU-akh ha-ra-A
Exegesis
The genitive phrase ruach Elohim {רֽוּחַ־אֱלֹהִים | rū-ḥăḥ ʾĕ-lō-hîm} ‘spirit of God’ establishes divine agency as the source of the influence on Saul. The coordinated sequence of vav-prefixed verbs (velakach, venigen, veravach) outlines a cause-and-effect action–reaction pattern.
Root and etymology
RootReish–Vav–Chet
“wind, breath, spirit”
In context — 1 Samuel 16:23
And it happened, whenever the spirit of God was upon Saul, David would take the lyre and play with his hand, and relief came to Saul, and it was good for him; and the evil spirit departed from him.
About this coordinate
1 Samuel 16:23:3 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 3 of 1 Samuel 16:23, so the Hebrew word רֽוּחַ־אֱלֹהִים֙ (ruakhelohim) 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.16.23.W3, which extends further down to each syllable (1 Sam.16.23.W3.S1) and character.