Exodus 20:7:13Exod.20.7.W13TAB
לַשָּֽׁוְא׃
lashav
“in vain”
- Transliteration
- la-SHAV
- Extended
- lah-SHAHV
- IPA
- /laˈʃaːv/
Meaning by language
- English
- in vain
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points |
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The word
Word in context
- word
la-SHAV
- clause
KI LO ye-na-KEH ye-ho-VAH ET a-SHER-yi-SA et-she-MO la-SHAV
- sentence
LO ti-SA et-SHEM-ye-ho-VAH e-lo-HE-kha la-SHAV KI LO ye-na-KEH ye-ho-VAH ET a-SHER-yi-SA et-she-MO la-SHAV
Exegesis
The prepositional phrase lashav {לַשָּׁוְא | laš-šāwʾ} ‘to vanity’ indicates manner and purpose, covering false oaths or empty invocation.
The relative clause asher yissa et shmo lashav {אֲשֶׁר־ יִשָּׂא אֶת־ שְׁמוֹ לַשָּׁוְא | ʾă-šer yiś-śāʾ ʾeṯ-šəmô laš-šāwʾ} ‘who lifts His name to vanity’ specifies the object of divine judgment.
Root and etymology
Rootshin–vav–aleph
“emptiness, vanity”
In context — Exodus 20:7
You shall not carry the name of the LORD your God in a worthless way, for the LORD will not leave unpunished anyone who carries His name in vanity.
About this coordinate
Exodus 20:7:13 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 13 of Exodus 20:7, so the Hebrew word לַשָּֽׁוְא׃ (lashav) 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.20.7.W13, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.20.7.W13.S1) and character.