Exodus 20:3:5Exod.20.3.W5TAB
עַל־פָּנָֽ͏ַ֗י
alpanai
“before me”
- Transliteration
- al-pa-NAI
- Extended
- ahl-pah-NAI
- IPA
- /ʕal.paˈnaj/
Meaning by language
- English
- before me
Alphabet Analysis
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Pe | p with dagesh; f without | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Nun | n as in new | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī |
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The word
Word in context
- word
al-pa-NAI
- sentence
LO yih-YEH-le-KHA e-lo-HIM a-khe-RIM al-pa-NAI
Exegesis
The prepositional phrase al panai {עַל־פָּנָֽ͏ַ֗י | ʿal-pā-nāy} ‘upon my face’ uses a spatial metaphor of immediate divine presence and is translated as “before Me” in the formal rendering and “in front of Me” in the dynamic rendering to capture both proximity and relational immediacy.
Root and etymology
p-n-hpe–nun–heth
“face, presence”
In context — Exodus 20:3
You shall not have other gods before Me .
About this coordinate
Exodus 20:3:5 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 5 of Exodus 20:3, so the Hebrew word עַל־פָּנָֽ͏ַ֗י (alpanai) 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.20.3.W5, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.20.3.W5.S1) and character.