1 Samuel 20:17:81 Sam.20.17.W8TAB
נַפְשׁ֖וֹ
nafsho
“his soul or his life”
- Transliteration
- naf-SHO
- Extended
- nahf-SHOH
- IPA
- /nafˈʃoː/
Meaning by language
- English
- his soul or his life
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Nun | n as in new | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Pe | p with dagesh; f without | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Holem | long 'oh' as in go |
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The word
Word in context
- word
naf-SHO
- phraseyour reading level
ki-a-ha-VAT naf-SHO
- clause
ki-a-ha-VAT naf-SHO a-HE-VO
- sentence
va-yo-SEF ye-ho-na-TAN le-hash-bi-A et-da-VID be-a-ha-va-TO o-TO ki-a-ha-VAT naf-SHO a-HE-VO
Exegesis
A second kî’āhēḇ clause mirrors the first, culminating in kənap̄šōw {כְּנַפְשׁוֹ | kə-nap̄-šōw} ‘as his soul’, forming a comparative structure that intensifies Jonathan’s affection as equal to self-preservation. The English translation renders the verb-initial Hebrew into a subject-verb-object order and preserves the repetitive causal clauses to maintain rhetorical force.
Root and etymology
nun-peh-shinnun–pe–shin
“to breathe, live”
In context — 1 Samuel 20:17
And Jonathan made David swear again, because he loved him as he loved his own soul .
About this coordinate
1 Samuel 20:17:8 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 8 of 1 Samuel 20:17, so the Hebrew word נַפְשׁ֖וֹ (nafsho) 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.20.17.W8, which extends further down to each syllable (1 Sam.20.17.W8.S1) and character.