Exodus 23:32:4Exod.23.32.W4TAB

בְּרִֽית׃

bereet

a covenant

Transliteration
be-REET
Extended
beh-REET
IPA
/bəˈriːθ/

Meaning by language

English
a covenant

Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it

Result
בְּ + רִֽית׃
be + reet
bereet

Alphabet Analysis

Betb with dagesh; v without dagesh
Shevavocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable
Reshr guttural, like the French r
Hireq'ee' as in machine
Yody as in yes; marks long ī
Tavt as in top

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Vowels (Niqqud)

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The word

Word in context

  1. word

    be-REET

  2. sentence

    lo-tikh-ROT la-HEM ve-le-lo-hei-HEM be-REET

Exegesis

The prohibition is introduced by the negative particle lo tikrot {לֹא תִכְרֹת | lō tiqrōt} ‘you shall not make’, in which lo {לֹא | lō} ‘not’ precedes the Qal imperfect of karat {כָּרַת | kərāṯ} ‘to cut’, invoking the idiom karat berit {כָּרַת בְּרִית | kərāṯ bərit} ‘cut a covenant’ typical of ancient Near Eastern treaty making.

The noun berit {בְּרִית | bərit} ‘covenant’ functions as the object, underscoring the legal nature of the command and emphasizing Israel’s exclusive covenantal identity.

Root and etymology

RootBet-Resh-Tav

to bind, to cut

In contextExodus 23:32

You shall not make a covenant with them and with their gods .

About this coordinate

Exodus 23:32:4 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 4 of Exodus 23:32, so the Hebrew word בְּרִֽית׃ (bereet) 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.23.32.W4, which extends further down to each syllable (Exod.23.32.W4.S1) and character.