Exodus 17:3:9Exod.17.3.W9TAB
לָ֤מָּה
lamah
“why”
- Transliteration
- la-MAH
- Extended
- lah-MAAH
- IPA
- /la.ˈmaː/
Meaning by language
- English
- why
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
la-MAH
- phraseyour reading level
la-MAH ZEH
- clause
va-YO-mer la-MAH ZEH he-eh-li-TA-noo mim-mits-RA-yim le-ha-MIT o-TI ve-et-ba-NAI ve-et-mik-NAI ba-tsa-MA
- sentence
va-yits-MA SHAM ha-AM lam-MA-yim va-ya-LEN ha-AM al-mo-SHEH va-YO-mer la-MAH ZEH he-eh-li-TA-noo mim-mits-RA-yim le-ha-MIT o-TI ve-et-ba-NAI ve-et-mik-NAI ba-tsa-MA
Exegesis
With the third wayyiqtol vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | way-yō-mer} ‘said’, direct speech is introduced by the interrogative lamah zeh {לָמָּה זֶה | lā-māh zeh} ‘why this’.
In context — Exodus 17:3
But the people were thirsty for water there, and they complained against Moses . They said, “Why did you bring us up from Egypt, to cause us and our children and our livestock to die from thirst ?”
About this coordinate
Exodus 17:3:9 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 9 of Exodus 17:3, so the Hebrew word לָ֤מָּה (lamah) 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.17.3.W9, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.17.3.W9.S1) and character.