1 Samuel 21:1:121 Sam.21.1.W12TABWLC 1 Samuel 21:2
מַדּ֤וּעַ
madua
“why”
- Transliteration
- ma-DU-a
- Extended
- mah-DOO-ah
- IPA
- /mad.duːˈʕa/
Meaning by language
- English
- why
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Dalet | d as in door | |
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father |
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The word
Word in context
- word
ma-DU-a
- phraseyour reading level
ma-DU-a a-TA
- clause
va-ye-khe-RAD a-khi-ME-lekh lik-RA-et da-VID va-yo-MER LO ma-DU-a a-TA le-vad-DE-kha ve-ISH EN it-TAKH
- sentence
va-ya-BO da-VID NO-ve el-a-khi-ME-lekh ha-ko-HEN va-ye-khe-RAD a-khi-ME-lekh lik-RA-et da-VID va-yo-MER LO ma-DU-a a-TA le-vad-DE-kha ve-ISH EN it-TAKH
Exegesis
The interrogative madua {מַדּוּעַ | maddûaʿ} ‘why’ governs the clause, while the existential negation ve-ein {וְאֵין | wə-ʾên} ‘there is not’ in conjunction with ish {אִישׁ | ʾîš} ‘man’ emphasizes David’s isolation. In English, these vav verbs are rendered as independent clauses to preserve narrative clarity, and the existential clause becomes a coordinated question to maintain the original sense of inquiry.
Root and etymology
d-ʿ-ʿ
“to cause to know”
In context — 1 Samuel 21:1
And David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest, and Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no man is with you?”
About this coordinate
1 Samuel 21:1:12 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 12 of 1 Samuel 21:1, so the Hebrew word מַדּ֤וּעַ (madua) 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.21.1.W12, which extends further down to each syllable (1 Sam.21.1.W12.S1) and character.