Exodus 14:12:10Exod.14.12.W10TAB
וְנַֽעַבְדָ֣ה
venaavda
“that we may serve”
- Transliteration
- ve-na-av-DA
- Extended
- veh-nah-ahv-DAH
- IPA
- /wə.na.ʕav.ˈdaː/
Meaning by language
- English
- that we may serve
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 | |
| Nun | n as in new | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Dalet | d as in door | |
| 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
ve-na-av-DA
- phraseyour reading level
ve-na-av-DA et-mits-RA-yim
- clause
ha-lo-ZEH ha-da-VAR a-SHER di-BAR-noo e-LEY-kha be-mits-RA-yim le-MOR kha-DAL mi-MEN-noo ve-na-av-DA et-mits-RA-yim
- sentence
ha-lo-ZEH ha-da-VAR a-SHER di-BAR-noo e-LEY-kha be-mits-RA-yim le-MOR kha-DAL mi-MEN-noo ve-na-av-DA et-mits-RA-yim KI TOV la-NU a-VOD et-mits-RA-yim mi-moo-TE-noo ba-mid-BAR
Exegesis
Inside the quotation, the Qal imperative ḥădāl minnēnû {חֲדַל מִמֶּנּוּ} “cease from us” and the vav-cohortative vē-nāʿăvdāh ʾet-miṭsrāyim {וְנַעַבְדָה אֶת־מִצְרָיִם} “and let us serve the Egyptians” express urgent complaint.
Root and etymology
Rootʿayin–beth–daleth
“servant”
In context — Exodus 14:12
Is this not the very word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying “Leave us alone and let us serve the Egyptians”? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.
About this coordinate
Exodus 14:12:10 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 10 of Exodus 14:12, so the Hebrew word וְנַֽעַבְדָ֣ה (venaavda) 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.14.12.W10, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.14.12.W10.S1) and character.