Daniel 2:15:6Dan.2.15.W6TAB
עַל־מָ֥ה
alma
“why”
- Transliteration
- al-MA
- Extended
- al-MAA
- IPA
- /ʕalˈmaː/
Meaning by language
- English
- why
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end |
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Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
al-MA
- phraseyour reading level
al-MA da-TA
- clause
ah-NE veh-ah-MAR leh-ar-YOKH shal-LEE-TA dee-MAL-KA al-MA da-TA meh-hakh-tseh-FA min-koh-DAM MAL-KA
- sentence
ah-NE veh-ah-MAR leh-ar-YOKH shal-LEE-TA dee-MAL-KA al-MA da-TA meh-hakh-tseh-FA min-koh-DAM MAL-KA eh-DA-yin mil-TA ho-DA ar-YOKH leh-dah-nee-EL
Exegesis
The interrogative clause alma data mehachtsefa minqodam malka {עַל־מָ֥ה דָתָ֛א מְהַחְצְפָ֖ה מִן־קֳדָ֣ם מַלְכָּ֑א} uses a fronted question word alma ‘why’ and the term mehachtsefa ‘urgent’ to highlight the sudden intensity of the king’s decree.
Root and etymology
Rootayin–lamed–mem
“age, world, eternity”
In context — Daniel 2:15
He answered and said to Arioch, the captain of the king, “Why is the decree so urgent from before the king?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel.
About this coordinate
Daniel 2:15:6 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 6 of Daniel 2:15, so the Hebrew word עַל־מָ֥ה (alma) 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 Dan.2.15.W6, which extends further down to each syllable (Dan.2.15.W6.S1) and character.