Ezekiel 18:31:13Ezek.18.31.W13TAB
וְלָ֥מָּה
velama
“and why”
- Transliteration
- ve-la-MA
- Extended
- veh-laa-MAA
- IPA
- /vəlaːmˈmaː/
Meaning by language
- English
- and why
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
ve-la-MA
- phraseyour reading level
ve-la-MA ta-MU-tu
- clause
ve-la-MA ta-MU-tu BET yis-ra-EL
- sentence
hash-li-KHU me-a-le-KHEM et-KOL-fi-she-E-khem a-SHER pe-sha-TEHM BAM va-a-SU la-KHEM LEV kha-DASH ve-RU-akh kha-da-SHA ve-la-MA ta-MU-tu BET yis-ra-EL
Exegesis
The closing question velamah tamutu {וְלָמָּה תָמֻתוּ | wə-lā-māh tā-mu-tû} ‘and why will you die’ functions rhetorically, addressing the house of Israel {beit yisrael} as a corporate summons between life and death.
In context — Ezekiel 18:31
Cast away from yourselves all your transgressions which you have committed, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit; and why will you die, house of Israel?
About this coordinate
Ezekiel 18:31:13 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 13 of Ezekiel 18:31, so the Hebrew word וְלָ֥מָּה (velama) 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 Ezek.18.31.W13, which extends further down to each syllable (Ezek.18.31.W13.S1) and character.