2 Samuel 16:10:32 Sam.16.10.W3TAB

מַה־לִּ֥י

mali

what to me or what have I to do with

Transliteration
ma-LI
Extended
mah-LEE
IPA
/maˈl.liː/

Meaning by language

English
what to me or what have I to do with

Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it

Result
מַה + לִּ֥י
ma + li
mali

Alphabet Analysis

Memm as in mother
Patachshort 'ah' as in father
Heh as in house; silent at word end
Lamedl as in law
Hireq'ee' as in machine
Yody as in yes; marks long ī

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Vowels (Niqqud)

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The word

Word in context

  1. word

    ma-LI

  2. phraseyour reading level

    ma-LI ve-la-KHEM

  3. clause

    va-YO-mer ha-ME-lekh ma-LI ve-la-KHEM be-NE tse-ru-YA

  4. sentence

    va-YO-mer ha-ME-lekh ma-LI ve-la-KHEM be-NE tse-ru-YA KI KO ye-ka-LEL ve-KHI KI ye-ho-VAH a-MAR LO ka-LEL et-da-VID u-MI yo-MAR ma-DU-a a-si-TA KEN

Exegesis

The idiomatic mah-li ve-lakhem {מַה־לִּי וְלָכֶ֖ם | mah-lī wə-lā-khem} ‘what have I to do with you’ creates a distancing rhetorical question.

Root and etymology

m-hmem–heh

what

In context2 Samuel 16:10

But the king said, “What have I to do with you, sons of Zeruiah? Let him curse , because the LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David.’ Who then can say, ‘Why have you done this?’”

About this coordinate

2 Samuel 16:10:3 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 3 of 2 Samuel 16:10, so the Hebrew word מַה־לִּ֥י (mali) 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.16.10.W3, which extends further down to each syllable (2 Sam.16.10.W3.S1) and character.