Genesis 15:4:12Gen.15.4.W12TAB

ה֖וּא

hu

he

Transliteration
HU
Extended
HOO
IPA
/ˈhuː/

Meaning by language

English
he

Alphabet Analysis

Heh as in house; silent at word end
Vavv as in vine; marks long ō / ū
Alephsilent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points

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Vowels (Niqqud)

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The word

Word in context

  1. word

    HU

  2. clause

    ki-IM a-SHER ye-TSE mim-me-E-kha HU yi-ra-SHE-kha

  3. sentence

    ve-hin-NEH de-var-ye-ho-VAH e-LAV le-MOR LO yi-rash-KHA ZEH ki-IM a-SHER ye-TSE mim-me-E-kha HU yi-ra-SHE-kha

Exegesis

The independent pronoun hu {הוּא | hûʾ} ‘he’ is fronted for focus, and the repetition of yirashekha at both the denial and the affirmation forms a tight inclusio around the concept of “heir,” highlighting the certainty and legitimacy of the promised successor. In the English renderings, the initial particle is represented as “And behold” in the formal version and “Suddenly” in the dynamic version to reflect its discourse function, while ki-im is translated “but rather” or “instead” to preserve the strong contrast between the rejected and the chosen heir.

In contextGenesis 15:4

And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but rather the one who shall come forth from your own inner being —he shall be your heir.”

About this coordinate

Genesis 15:4:12 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 12 of Genesis 15:4, so the Hebrew word ה֖וּא (hu) 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.15.4.W12, which extends further down to each syllable (Gen.15.4.W12.S1) and character.