Exodus 20:5:3Exod.20.5.W3TAB
וְלֹ֣א
or
“or”
- Transliteration
- OR
- Extended
- OHR
- IPA
- /vəˈloː/
Meaning by language
- English
- or
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Holem | long 'oh' as in go | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points |
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Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
OR
- phraseyour reading level
OR ta-av-DEM
- clause
lo-tish-ta-KHE-ve la-HEM OR ta-av-DEM
- sentence
lo-tish-ta-KHE-ve la-HEM OR ta-av-DEM FOR a-no-KHI Ye-ho-VAH e-lo-HE-kha EL ka-NA po-KED a-VON a-VOT ahl-bah-NEEM ahl-shil-le-SHIM veh-al-ri-BE-EEM leh-so-ne-AI
Exegesis
The verse begins with the prohibitive particle lo {לֹא | lōʾ} governing the reflexive imperfect verb tishtakhaveh {תִשְׁתַּחְוֶה | tiš-taḥ-weh}, immediately reinforced by the coordinated clause ve-lo taavdem {וְלֹא תָעָבְדֵם | wə-lōʾ tā-ʿăv-dēm}, forming a hendiadys that stresses both cultic prostration and covenant service.
Root and etymology
l-ʾlamed–aleph
“not, negation”
In context — Exodus 20:5
You shall not bow down to them or serve them, because I, the LORD your God , am a jealous God who visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and to the fourth generations of those who hate Me.
About this coordinate
Exodus 20:5:3 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 3 of Exodus 20:5, so the Hebrew word וְלֹ֣א (or) 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.20.5.W3, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.20.5.W3.S1) and character.