Genesis 15:17:4Gen.15.17.W4TAB
וַעֲלָטָ֖ה
vaalata
“and deep darkness”
- Transliteration
- va-a-la-TA
- Extended
- vah-ah-lah-TAA
- IPA
- /wa.ʕă.laː.ˈtaː/
Meaning by language
- English
- and deep darkness
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Hateph Patach | reduced 'ah' | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Tet | t — emphatic | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
va-a-la-TA
- clause
va-ye-HI hash-SHE-mesh BA-a va-a-la-TA ha-YA
- sentence
va-ye-HI hash-SHE-mesh BA-a va-a-la-TA ha-YA ve-hin-NEH tan-NUR a-SHAN ve-lap-PID ESH a-SHER a-VAR BEN hag-ge-za-RIM ha-EL-leh
Exegesis
The temporal setting is expressed through the clause hashemesh ba'ah {הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בָּאָה | haš·šemeš bā·ʾāh} ‘the sun had gone down’, followed by the parallel nominal clause va'alatah hayah {וַעֲלָטָה הָיָה | wa·ʿă·lāṭāh hā·yāh} ‘and darkness was’, creating a balanced description of the transition into night and heightening the sense of solemnity.
In context — Genesis 15:17
And it came to pass, when the sun had gone down and darkness was, that behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
About this coordinate
Genesis 15:17:4 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 4 of Genesis 15:17, so the Hebrew word וַעֲלָטָ֖ה (vaalata) 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 Gen.15.17.W4, which extends further down to each syllable (Gen.15.17.W4.S1) and character.