2 Samuel 14:5:32 Sam.14.5.W3TAB
מַה־לָּ֑ךְ
malakh
“what to you”
- Transliteration
- ma-LAKH
- Extended
- mah-LAAKH
- IPA
- /maːˈlɔːx/
Meaning by language
- English
- what to you
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Kaf Sofit | final form of Kaf — at word end | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable |
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Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
ma-LAKH
- clause
va-yo-MER-la ha-ME-lekh ma-LAKH
- sentence
va-yo-MER-la ha-ME-lekh ma-LAKH va-to-MER a-VAL i-SHA-al-ma-NA a-NI va-ya-MAT i-SHI
Exegesis
The idiomatic mah-lakh {מַה־לָּךְ | māh-lāḵ} pairs what with the lamed suffix to convey personal distress rather than a literal spatial question.
Root and etymology
l-ʾ-ḵlamed–aleph–kaph
“messenger, envoy”
In context — 2 Samuel 14:5
And the king said to her, “What is troubling you?” She replied, “Indeed, I am a widow ; my husband has died.”
About this coordinate
2 Samuel 14:5:3 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 3 of 2 Samuel 14:5, so the Hebrew word מַה־לָּ֑ךְ (malakh) 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 Sam.14.5.W3, which extends further down to each syllable (2 Sam.14.5.W3.S1) and character.