Exodus 20:25:1Exod.20.25.W1TAB
וְאִם־מִזְבַּ֤ח
vehimmizbakh
“and if an altar”
- Transliteration
- veh-IM-miz-BAKH
- Extended
- veh-IHM-miz-BAKH
- IPA
- /vəʔim.mizˈbaħ/
Meaning by language
- English
- and if an altar
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Mem Sofit | final form of Mem — at word end | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Zayin | z as in zero | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Chet | ch — deep guttural, as in Scottish loch |
Tap any letter to hear its name and sound
Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
veh-IM-miz-BAKH
- phraseyour reading level
veh-IM-miz-BAKH a-va-NIM
- clause
veh-IM-miz-BAKH a-va-NIM ta-ah-seh-LEE loh-tiv-NEH et-HEN gah-ZEET
- sentence
veh-IM-miz-BAKH a-va-NIM ta-ah-seh-LEE loh-tiv-NEH et-HEN gah-ZEET KEE khar-be-KHAH he-NAF-TAA a-LE-ha va-te-khal-LE-ha
Exegesis
The verse begins with the conditional protasis introduced by veim {וְאִם־ | wə-ʾim} ‘and if’, followed by the casuistic clause mizbeach avaním taʿăseh-li {מִזְבַּ֤ח אֲבָנִים֙ תַּֽעֲשֶׂה־לִּ֔י | miz-bē-āḥ ʾă-ḇā-nîm ta-ʿă-śeh-lî} ‘you make an altar of stones for me’.
Root and etymology
z-b-ḥzayin–beth–ḥeth
“to slaughter, sacrifice”
In context — Exodus 20:25
And if you make an altar of stones for Me , you shall not build it with hewn stones, for if you lift your tool against it, you will profane it.
About this coordinate
Exodus 20:25:1 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 1 of Exodus 20:25, so the Hebrew word וְאִם־מִזְבַּ֤ח (vehimmizbakh) 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.20.25.W1, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.20.25.W1.S1) and character.