Exodus 14:12:16Exod.14.12.W16TAB
אֶת־מִצְרַ֔יִם
etmitsrayim
“Egypt”
- Transliteration
- et-mits-RA-yim
- Extended
- eht-mits-RAH-yim
- IPA
- /ʔɛt.mits.ˈra.jim/
Meaning by language
- English
- Egypt
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Tav | t as in top | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Tsade | ts as in cats | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Mem Sofit | final form of Mem — at word end |
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Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
et-mits-RA-yim
- phraseyour reading level
a-VOD et-mits-RA-yim
- clause
KI TOV la-NU a-VOD et-mits-RA-yim mi-moo-TE-noo ba-mid-BAR
- 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.
The conjunction kî {כִּי | kî} introduces the comparative clause kî ṭōv lānû ʿăvōd ʾet-miṭsrāyim mimmūtēnû ba-midbār {כִּי טוֹב לָנוּ עֲבֹד אֶת־מִצְרָיִם מִמֻּתֵּנוּ בַּמִּדְבָּר}, “for it would be good for us to serve the Egyptians rather than to die in the wilderness,” highlighting the contrast between bondage and death.
Root and etymology
מ־צ־ר
“narrow place”
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 14:12:16 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 16 of Exodus 14:12, so the Hebrew word אֶת־מִצְרַ֔יִם (etmitsrayim) 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.W16, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.14.12.W16.S1) and character.