Exodus 20:21:6Exod.20.21.W6TAB
אֶל־הָֽעֲרָפֶ֔ל
elhaarafel
“to the thick darkness”
- Transliteration
- el-ha-a-ra-FEL
- Extended
- ehl-hah-ah-rah-FEHL
- IPA
- /ʔɛl.haː.ʕă.raː.ˈfɛl/
Meaning by language
- English
- to the thick darkness
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Hateph Patach | reduced 'ah' | |
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Pe | p with dagesh; f without | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Lamed | l as in law |
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The word
Word in context
- word
el-ha-a-ra-FEL
- phraseyour reading level
ni-GASH el-ha-a-ra-FEL
- clause
oo-mo-SHEH ni-GASH el-ha-a-ra-FEL a-sher-SHAM ha-e-lo-HIM
- sentence
va-ya-a-MOD ha-AM me-ra-KHOK oo-mo-SHEH ni-GASH el-ha-a-ra-FEL a-sher-SHAM ha-e-lo-HIM
Exegesis
The phrase el-ha'arafel {אֶל־הָעֲרָפֶל | ʾel-hā-ʿă-rā-pel} ‘to the thick darkness’ designates the goal of approach and evokes the concealed nature of the theophany.
Root and etymology
ʿ-r-payin–resh–pe
“thick darkness”
In context — Exodus 20:21
The people stood at a distance , but Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
About this coordinate
Exodus 20:21:6 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 6 of Exodus 20:21, so the Hebrew word אֶל־הָֽעֲרָפֶ֔ל (elhaarafel) 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.20.21.W6, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.20.21.W6.S1) and character.