2 Samuel 16:17:72 Sam.16.17.W7TAB
לָ֥מָּה
lama
“why”
- Transliteration
- LA-ma
- Extended
- LAA-mah
- IPA
- /ˈlaːm.maː/
Meaning by language
- English
- why
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
LA-ma
- phraseyour reading level
LA-ma lo-ha-LAKH-ta
- clause
LA-ma lo-ha-LAKH-ta et-re-E-kha
- sentence
va-YO-mer av-sha-LOM el-khu-SHAI ZE kha-SE-de-kha et-re-E-kha LA-ma lo-ha-LAKH-ta et-re-E-kha
Exegesis
The interrogative lamah {לָמָּה | lām·māh} ‘why’ with the negative lo {לֹא | lōʾ} and the perfect verb halakhta {הָלַכְתָּ | hā·lakh·tā} ‘you went’ forms a why-did-not clause, heightening personal accountability.
In context — 2 Samuel 16:17
And Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your kindness to your friend ? Why did you not go with your friend?”
About this coordinate
2 Samuel 16:17:7 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 7 of 2 Samuel 16:17, so the Hebrew word לָ֥מָּה (lama) 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.16.17.W7, which extends further down to each syllable (2 Sam.16.17.W7.S1) and character.