Exodus 17:2:13Exod.17.2.W13TAB
מַה־תְּנַסּ֖וּן
mahtenasoon
“why do you test”
- Transliteration
- mah-te-na-SOON
- Extended
- mah-teh-nah-SOON
- IPA
- /ma.tə.nas.ˈsuːn/
Meaning by language
- English
- why do you test
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| Tav | t as in top | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Nun | n as in new | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Samekh | s as in sit | |
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Nun Sofit | final form of Nun — at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
mah-te-na-SOON
- clause
va-YO-mer la-HEM mo-SHEH mah-te-ri-VOON im-ma-DEE mah-te-na-SOON et-yeh-ho-VAH
- sentence
va-ya-REV ha-AM im-mo-SHEH va-yom-ROO teh-NOO-lah-NOO MA-yim ve-nish-TEH va-YO-mer la-HEM mo-SHEH mah-te-ri-VOON im-ma-DEE mah-te-na-SOON et-yeh-ho-VAH
Exegesis
Moses’ speech features parallel interrogatives mah-terivun {מַה־תְּרִיבוּן֙ | mah-tə-rî-vûn} ‘why do you quarrel’ with im-mā-dî {עִמָּדִ֔י | ʿim-mā-dî} ‘with me’, and mah-tenasūn {מַה־תְּנַסּ֖וּן | mah-tə-nas-sûn} ‘why do you test’ with et-YHWH {אֶת־יְהוָֽה | ʾeṯ-Yə-hō-wāh} ‘the LORD’. This parallelism underscores that challenging Moses equates to testing the divine provision. In translation, past tense preserves the narrative flow of the wayyiqtol forms, while rendering the Hebrew imperfects as present-tense questions maintains their urgent, ongoing force.
In context — Exodus 17:2
Then the people argued with Moses and said, “Give us water so that we may drink.” Moses said to them, “Why are you arguing with me? Why are you testing the LORD ?”
About this coordinate
Exodus 17:2:13 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 13 of Exodus 17:2, so the Hebrew word מַה־תְּנַסּ֖וּן (mahtenasoon) 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.17.2.W13, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.17.2.W13.S1) and character.