2 Samuel 16:9:52 Sam.16.9.W5TAB
לָ֣מָּה
lama
“why”
- Transliteration
- la-MA
- Extended
- laa-MAH
- IPA
- /laːˈmːaː/
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 ye-kal-LEL
- clause
va-yo-MER a-vi-SHAI ben-tse-ru-YA el-ha-ME-lekh la-MA ye-kal-LEL ha-KE-lev ha-MET ha-ZE et-a-do-NI ha-ME-lekh
- sentence
va-yo-MER a-vi-SHAI ben-tse-ru-YA el-ha-ME-lekh la-MA ye-kal-LEL ha-KE-lev ha-MET ha-ZE et-a-do-NI ha-ME-lekh e-e-ve-RA-na ve-a-si-RA et-ro-SHO
Exegesis
The interrogative lamah {לָמָּה | lāmâ} frames a rhetorical question, immediately followed by the Piel imperfect yekallel {יְקַלֵּל | yeqallel}, intensifying the offense.
In context — 2 Samuel 16:9
Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please allow me to cross over and remove his head.”
About this coordinate
2 Samuel 16:9:5 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 5 of 2 Samuel 16:9, so the Hebrew word לָ֣מָּה (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.16.9.W5, which extends further down to each syllable (2 Sam.16.9.W5.S1) and character.