Exodus 14:2:6Exod.14.2.W6TAB
לִפְנֵי֙
lifnei
“before”
- Transliteration
- lif-NEI
- Extended
- lihf-NEE
- IPA
- /lif.ˈneː/
Meaning by language
- English
- before
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Pe | p with dagesh; f without | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Nun | n as in new | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī |
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The word
Word in context
- word
lif-NEI
- clause
da-BER el-be-NEI yis-ra-EL ve-ya-SHU-vu ve-ya-kha-NU lif-NEI PI ha-khi-ROT BEIN mig-DOL u-VEIN ha-YAM
- sentence
da-BER el-be-NEI yis-ra-EL ve-ya-SHU-vu ve-ya-kha-NU lif-NEI PI ha-khi-ROT BEIN mig-DOL u-VEIN ha-YAM lif-NEI BA-al tse-FON nikh-KHO ta-kha-NU al-ha-YAM
Exegesis
Two chained locatives—lifnei pi hachirot and bein migdol ubein hayam {לִפְנֵי פִּי הַחִירֹת | li-pnê pî haḥîrōṯ; בֵּין מִגְדֹּל וּבֵין הַיָּם | bēn migdōl u-bēn ha-yām}—identify the pass Pi Hahiroth between Migdol and the sea.
A further lifnei baal tsephon {לִפְנֵי בַּעַל צְפֹן | li-pnê Bāʿal Tsep̄ōn} positions them opposite Baal Zephon, and tachanu al-hayam {תַחֲנוּ עַל־הַיָּם | taḥănû ʿal-ha-yām} finalizes the instruction to encamp by the sea. The vav-consecutive imperatives and precise prepositional chaining deliver narrative momentum and spatial clarity.
In context — Exodus 14:2
Speak to the sons of Israel, and let them turn back and encamp before Pi Hahiroth , between Migdol and the sea, before Baal Zephon; opposite it, you shall encamp by the sea.
About this coordinate
Exodus 14:2:6 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 6 of Exodus 14:2, so the Hebrew word לִפְנֵי֙ (lifnei) 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.14.2.W6, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.14.2.W6.S1) and character.