2 Samuel 17:20:162 Sam.17.20.W16TAB
וַיְבַקְשׁוּ֙
vayevakshu
“and they searched”
- Transliteration
- va-ye-vak-SHU
- Extended
- vah-yeh-vahk-SHOO
- IPA
- /vajəvaqˈʃuː/
Meaning by language
- English
- and they searched
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Qof | q — deep k, uvular | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū |
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The word
Word in context
- word
va-ye-vak-SHU
- clause
va-ye-vak-SHU ve-LO ma-tsa-U va-ya-SHU-vu ye-ru-sha-LA-im
- sentence
va-ya-BO-u av-DE av-sha-LOM el-ha-i-SHA ha-BAI-ta va-yo-me-RU a-YE a-khi-ma-ATS vi-yo-na-TAN va-to-MER la-HEM ha-i-SHA av-RU mi-KHAL ha-MA-yim va-ye-vak-SHU ve-LO ma-tsa-U va-ya-SHU-vu ye-ru-sha-LA-im
Exegesis
The vav-consecutive imperfect vayyivqašū {וַיְבַקְשׁוּ | vayyivqašū} ‘and they sought’ paired with wə-lōʾ māṣāʾū {וְלֹא מָצָאוּ | wə-lōʾ māṣāʾū} ‘and did not find’ reflects the fruitless search, culminating in vayyāšūvū {וַיָּשֻׁבוּ | vayyāšūvū} ‘and they returned’, which closes the narrative loop and mirrors the Hebrew telic flow.
Root and etymology
Rootbet–qof–shin
“to seek, search, desire”
In context — 2 Samuel 17:20
And the servants of Absalom came to the woman at the house and said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman said to them, “They have crossed over the water.” They searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem .
About this coordinate
2 Samuel 17:20:16 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 16 of 2 Samuel 17:20, so the Hebrew word וַיְבַקְשׁוּ֙ (vayevakshu) 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.17.20.W16, which extends further down to each syllable (2 Sam.17.20.W16.S1) and character.