Exodus 20:21:7Exod.20.21.W7TAB
אֲשֶׁר־שָׁ֖ם
ashersham
“where”
- Transliteration
- a-sher-SHAM
- Extended
- ah-shehr-SHAAM
- IPA
- /ʔă.ʃɛr.ˈʃaːm/
Meaning by language
- English
- where
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Hateph Patach | reduced 'ah' | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Mem Sofit | final form of Mem — at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
a-sher-SHAM
- 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
This is followed by the locative relative clause asher-sham {אֲשֶׁר־שָׁם | ʾă-šer-šām} ‘where there’, specifying that haElohim {הָאֱלֹהִים | hā-ʾĕ-lō-hîm} ‘the God’ is present within the obscurity. The coordinated two-clause structure highlights the contrast between communal distance and individual approach, underscoring Moses’s mediating role.
Root and etymology
Rootshin–mem
“name, renown”
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 20:21:7 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 7 of Exodus 20:21, so the Hebrew word אֲשֶׁר־שָׁ֖ם (ashersham) 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.W7, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.20.21.W7.S1) and character.