1 Samuel 20:1:131 Sam.20.1.W13TAB
וּמֶ֣ה־חַטָּאתִ֔י
umekhatati
“and what is my sin”
- Transliteration
- u-ME-kha-TA-ti
- Extended
- oo-MEH-khah-TAH-tee
- IPA
- /uːˈmɛ.ħaṭˈṭaːtiː/
Meaning by language
- English
- and what is my sin
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| Chet | ch — deep guttural, as in Scottish loch | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Tet | t — emphatic | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Tav | t as in top | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī |
Tap any letter to hear its name and sound
Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
u-ME-kha-TA-ti
- clause
va-ya-VO va-yo-MER lif-NEI ye-ho-na-TAN MEH a-SI-ti ME-a-vo-NI u-ME-kha-TA-ti lif-NEI a-VI-kha
- sentence
va-yiv-RAKH da-VID me-no-VEH min-NA-yot ba-ra-MA va-ya-VO va-yo-MER lif-NEI ye-ho-na-TAN MEH a-SI-ti ME-a-vo-NI u-ME-kha-TA-ti lif-NEI a-VI-kha KI me-vak-KESH et-naf-SHI
Exegesis
His address unfolds in three parallel interrogatives—maʿasiti {מָה־עָשִׂ֖יתִי | mā-ʿă-śî-tî} ‘what have I done?’, machatati {מָה־חַטָּאתִי֙ | mā-ḥaṭ-ṭā-ṭî} ‘what have I sinned?’, and ūmaʿavonekha {וּמָה־עֲוֺנְךָ֔ | ū-mā-ʿă-vō-nə-khā} ‘and what is your offense?’, moving from general action to moral culpability to a specific charge.
The clause concludes with the Hiphil infinitive construct laharog {לַהֲרֹג֙ | la-hă-rōg} ‘to kill’ plus the suffix oti {אֹתִ֔י | ʾō-ṯî} ‘me’, forming a purpose/result construction. This layered syntax heightens the urgency and defensive stance of David’s plea.
Root and etymology
ח–ט–א
“sin”
In context — 1 Samuel 20:1
And David again came to Jonathan and said to him, “What have I done? What have I sinned? And what is your offense that a man from your father’s house is seeking to kill me?”
About this coordinate
1 Samuel 20:1:13 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 13 of 1 Samuel 20:1, so the Hebrew word וּמֶ֣ה־חַטָּאתִ֔י (umekhatati) 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.20.1.W13, which extends further down to each syllable (1 Sam.20.1.W13.S1) and character.