Exodus 13:21:9Exod.13.21.W9TAB
וְלַ֛יְלָה
velaila
“and by night”
- Transliteration
- ve-LAI-la
- Extended
- veh-LAI-lah
- IPA
- /wə.ˈlaj.laː/
Meaning by language
- English
- and by night
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end |
Tap any letter to hear its name and sound
Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
ve-LAI-la
- clause
va-ye-ho-VAH ho-LEKH lif-NEH-hem yo-MAM be-am-MUD a-NAN lan-kho-TAM ha-DE-rekh ve-LAI-la be-am-MUD ESH le-ha-IR la-HEM
- sentence
va-ye-ho-VAH ho-LEKH lif-NEH-hem yo-MAM be-am-MUD a-NAN lan-kho-TAM ha-DE-rekh ve-LAI-la be-am-MUD ESH le-ha-IR la-HEM la-le-KHET yo-MAM va-LAI-la
Exegesis
The paired temporal adverbs yo-mam {יוֹמָ֜ם | yō-mām} “by day” and ve-la-yla {וְלַ֛יְלָה | wə-la-yā-lāh} “and by night” form an inclusio emphasizing uninterrupted guidance.
The infinitives la-nakhotam {לַנְחֹתָ֣ם | la-nə-ḥō-tām} “to guide them” and le-ha-ir {לְהָאִ֣יר | lə-hā-ʼîr} “to give light” express purpose, while the final la-le-khet yo-mam wa-la-yla {לָלֶ֖כֶת יוֹמָ֥ם וָלָֽיְלָה | lā-le-ḵet yō-mām wā-lā-yā-lāh} “to go by day and by night” encapsulates the Israelites’ continuous journey under divine accompaniment.
In context — Exodus 13:21
And the LORD went ahead of them—by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them on the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to shine for them—so they could travel both by day and by night.
About this coordinate
Exodus 13:21:9 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 9 of Exodus 13:21, so the Hebrew word וְלַ֛יְלָה (velaila) 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 Exod.13.21.W9, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.13.21.W9.S1) and character.