Exodus 20:11:12Exod.20.11.W12TAB
עַל־כֵּ֗ן
alken
“therefore”
- Transliteration
- al-KEN
- Extended
- ahl-KEHN
- IPA
- /ʕalˈkeːn/
Meaning by language
- English
- therefore
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Kaf | k with dagesh; kh without | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Nun Sofit | final form of Nun — at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
al-KEN
- clause
al-KEN be-RAKH Ye-ho-VAH et-YOM hash-sha-BAT va-ye-kad-SHE-hu
- sentence
KI sheh-shet-yah-MIM a-SA Ye-ho-VAH et-ha-sha-MA-yim veh-et-ha-A-rets et-ha-YAM veh-et-kol-a-sher-BAM va-ya-NAKH ba-YOM hash-vee-EE al-KEN be-RAKH Ye-ho-VAH et-YOM hash-sha-BAT va-ye-kad-SHE-hu
Exegesis
The inferential al-ken {עַל־כֵּן | ʿal-kēn} ‘therefore’ introduces the consecratory clause where berakh {בֵּרַךְ | bē-raḵ} ‘he blessed’ and vayekadshehu {וַיְקַדְּשֵֽׁהוּ | way-qad-šê-hû} ‘and he sanctified’ frame the divine act of setting apart yom ha-shabbat {יוֹם הַשַׁבָּת | yōm haš-šab-bāṯ} ‘the Sabbath day’. The English rendering smooths clause order while maintaining logical and theological coherence between creation and Sabbath consecration.
In context — Exodus 20:11
For in six days the LORD created the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is within them, and He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.
About this coordinate
Exodus 20:11:12 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 12 of Exodus 20:11, so the Hebrew word עַל־כֵּ֗ן (alken) 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.20.11.W12, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.20.11.W12.S1) and character.