Exodus 2:13:10Exod.2.13.W10TAB
לָ֥מָּה
lama
“why”
- Transliteration
- la-MA
- Extended
- lah-MAA
- IPA
- /lam.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-MA
- phraseyour reading level
la-MA ta-KEH
- clause
va-YO-mer la-ra-SHA la-MA ta-KEH re-E-kha
- sentence
va-ye-TSE ba-YOM ha-she-NI ve-hin-NEH she-nei-a-na-SHIM iv-RIM nit-TSIM va-YO-mer la-ra-SHA la-MA ta-KEH re-E-kha
Exegesis
The interrogative lama {לָ֥מָּה | lāmâ} ‘why’ introduces a rebuke, and the Hiphil verb takkeh {תַכֶּ֖ה | takkēh} ‘do you strike’ indicates causation.
In context — Exodus 2:13
He went out on the second day, and behold, two Hebrew men were fighting. He said to the wicked one, “Why do you strike your companion ?”
About this coordinate
Exodus 2:13:10 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 10 of Exodus 2:13, so the Hebrew word לָ֥מָּה (lama) 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.2.13.W10, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.2.13.W10.S1) and character.