Genesis 15:5:10Gen.15.5.W10TAB
לִסְפֹּ֣ר
lispor
“to count”
- Transliteration
- lis-POR
- Extended
- lihs-POHR
- IPA
- /lisˈpoːr/
Meaning by language
- English
- to count
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Samekh | s as in sit | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Pe | p with dagesh; f without | |
| Holem | long 'oh' as in go | |
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r |
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The word
Word in context
- word
lis-POR
- phraseyour reading level
lis-POR o-TAM
- clause
va-yo-TSE o-TO ha-KHU-tsa va-YO-mer ha-bet-NA ha-sha-MAI-ma us-FOR ha-ko-kha-VIM im-tu-KHAL lis-POR o-TAM
- sentence
va-yo-TSE o-TO ha-KHU-tsa va-YO-mer ha-bet-NA ha-sha-MAI-ma us-FOR ha-ko-kha-VIM im-tu-KHAL lis-POR o-TAM va-YO-mer LO KO yih-YE zar-E-kha
Exegesis
The second imperative usefor {וּסְפֹר | us-pōr} ‘and count’ is coordinated with hakochavim {הַכּוֹכָבִים | hak-kô-kā-vîm} ‘the stars’, and is immediately qualified by the conditional clause im-tukhal lispor otam {אִם־תּוּכַל לִסְפֹּר אֹתָם | ʾim-tû-kal lis-pōr ʾō-tām} ‘if you are able to count them’, forming a condition that is practically impossible to fulfill. This structure heightens the contrast between human limitation and divine promise.
Root and etymology
s-p-r
“to count, recount”
In context — Genesis 15:5
And He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward the heavens , and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then He said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
About this coordinate
Genesis 15:5:10 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 10 of Genesis 15:5, so the Hebrew word לִסְפֹּ֣ר (lispor) 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.15.5.W10, which extends further down to each syllable (Gen.15.5.W10.S1) and character.