Deuteronomy 13:6:8Deut.13.6.W8TABWLC Deuteronomy 13:7
אֲשֶׁר֙ כְּנַפְשְׁךָ֣
asher kenafshekha
“who is as your own soul”
- Transliteration
- a-SHER ke-naf-SHE-kha
- Extended
- ah-SHEHR keh-naf-SHEH-khah
- IPA
- /ʔaˈʃɛr kənafˈʃɛχaː/
Meaning by language
- English
- who is as your own soul
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Hateph Patach | reduced 'ah' | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r | |
| Kaf | k with dagesh; kh without | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Nun | n as in new | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Pe | p with dagesh; f without | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Kaf Sofit | final form of Kaf — at word end | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' |
Tap any letter to hear its name and sound
Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
a-SHER ke-naf-SHE-kha
- clause
ki-ya-si-TKHAF a-KHI-kha ben-i-MEKH-kha o-vin-KHA o-vit-KHA o-E-shet-KHEI-ke-kha o-re-a-KHA a-SHER ke-naf-SHE-kha ba-SE-ter le-MOR
- sentence
ki-ya-si-TKHAF a-KHI-kha ben-i-MEKH-kha o-vin-KHA o-vit-KHA o-E-shet-KHEI-ke-kha o-re-a-KHA a-SHER ke-naf-SHE-kha ba-SE-ter le-MOR nel-KHA ve-na-av-DA e-lo-HIM a-SHER lo-ya-da-TA a-TA va-a-vo-TEI-kha me-o-LAM
Exegesis
The relative clause introduced by asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾăšer} with kenafshekha {כְּנַפְשְׁךָ | kə·nap̄·šêḵā} “like your soul” highlights intimate closeness.
The phrase ʾĕ·lō·hîm ʾă·ḥê·rîm {אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים | ʾĕ·lō·hîm ʾă·ḥê·rîm} “other gods” governs the relative clause asher loyadata {אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדַעְתָּ | ʾăšer lō·yā·ḏaṯ·tā}, and the parallel personal and ancestral subjects attah vaavotekha {אַתָּה וַאֲבֹתֶיךָ | ʾattāh wā·ʾă·wō·ṯe·ḵā} underline both individual and generational unfamiliarity with these deities.
Root and etymology
נ־פ־ש
“soul, life, self”
In context — Deuteronomy 13:6
If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is like your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods which you have not known, you nor your fathers .”
About this coordinate
Deuteronomy 13:6:8 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 8 of Deuteronomy 13:6, so the Hebrew word אֲשֶׁר֙ כְּנַפְשְׁךָ֣ (asher kenafshekha) 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 Deut.13.6.W8, which extends further down to each syllable (Deut.13.6.W8.S1) and character.