Exodus 17:4:5Exod.17.4.W5TAB
מָ֥ה
ma
“what”
- Transliteration
- MA
- Extended
- MAA
- IPA
- /ˈmaː/
Meaning by language
- English
- what
Alphabet Analysis
| 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
MA
- phraseyour reading level
MA e-eh-SEH
- clause
va-yits-AK mo-SHEH el-ye-ho-VAH leh-eh-MOR MA e-eh-SEH la-AM ha-ZEH
- sentence
va-yits-AK mo-SHEH el-ye-ho-VAH leh-eh-MOR MA e-eh-SEH la-AM ha-ZEH OD me-AT u-se-ka-lu-NI
Exegesis
Within the quotation, the interrogative mah {מָה | māh} ‘what’ precedes the imperfect eʾeseh {אֶעֱשֶׂה | ’eʿśeh} ‘shall I do’, forming the core question.
Root and etymology
l-ḥ-mlamed–chet–mem
“battle fight”
In context — Exodus 17:4
Moses cried out to the LORD , “What should I do for this people? They are nearly ready to stone me.”
About this coordinate
Exodus 17:4:5 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 5 of Exodus 17:4, so the Hebrew word מָ֥ה (ma) 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.17.4.W5, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.17.4.W5.S1) and character.