Exodus 20:5:4Exod.20.5.W4TAB
תָעָבְדֵ֑ם֒
taavdem
“serve them”
- Transliteration
- ta-av-DEM
- Extended
- tah-ahv-DEHM
- IPA
- /ta.ʕavˈdeːm/
Meaning by language
- English
- serve them
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Tav | t as in top | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Dalet | d as in door | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Mem Sofit | final form of Mem — at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
ta-av-DEM
- 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
ayin–beth–dalethʿayin–beth–daleth
“to work, serve”
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 20:5:4 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 4 of Exodus 20:5, so the Hebrew word תָעָבְדֵ֑ם֒ (taavdem) 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.W4, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.20.5.W4.S1) and character.