2 Kings 23:17:22 Kgs.23.17.W2TAB

מָ֚ה

ma

what

Transliteration
MA
Extended
MAA
IPA
/ˈmaː/

Meaning by language

English
what

Alphabet Analysis

Memm as in mother
Qametslong 'ah'
Heh as in house; silent at word end

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Vowels (Niqqud)

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The word

Word in context

  1. word

    MA

  2. clause

    va-yo-MER MA ha-tsi-YUN hal-LAZ a-SHER a-NI ro-E

  3. sentence

    va-yo-MER MA ha-tsi-YUN hal-LAZ a-SHER a-NI ro-E va-yom-RU e-LAV an-SHE ha-IR hak-KE-ver ish-ha-e-lo-HIM a-sher-BA mi-ye-hu-DA va-yik-RA et-ha-de-va-RIM ha-EL-le a-SHER a-si-TA al ham-miz-BE-akh BET-EL

Exegesis

The question employs the interrogative mah {מָ֚ה | māh} and the demonstrative phrase hatziyun halaz {הַצִיּ֣וּן הַלָּ֔ז | haṣiyyûn halāz} ‘this monument’, followed by the relative clause asher ani roeh {אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֲנִ֣י רֹאֶ֑ה | ʾăšer ʾănî rōʾēh} ‘that I see’.

Root and etymology

b-m-hbet–mem–heh

high place

In context2 Kings 23:17

And he said, “What is this monument that I see?” And the men of the city said to him, “It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah, and he proclaimed these words that you have done against the altar at Bethel.”

About this coordinate

2 Kings 23:17:2 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 2 of 2 Kings 23:17, so the Hebrew word מָ֚ה (ma) 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 2 Kgs.23.17.W2, which extends further down to each syllable (2 Kgs.23.17.W2.S1) and character.