Genesis 16:2:13Gen.16.2.W13TAB
וַיִּשְׁמַ֥ע
vayishma
“{And He} listened”
- Transliteration
- va-yish-MA
- Extended
- vah-yihsh-MAH
- IPA
- /vaj.jiʃ.ˈmaʕ/
Meaning by language
- English
- {And He} listened
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal |
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The word
Word in context
- word
va-yish-MA
- phraseyour reading level
va-yish-MA av-RAM
- clause
va-yish-MA av-RAM le-KOL sa-RAI
- sentence
va-TO-mer sa-RAI el-av-RAM hin-neh-NA a-tsa-RA-ni Ye-ho-VAH mil-LE-det bo-NA el-shif-KHA-ti u-LAI ib-ba-NEH mim-MEN-na va-yish-MA av-RAM le-KOL sa-RAI
Exegesis
The final wayyiqtol vayishma Avram lekol Sarai {וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָם לְקוֹל שָׂרָי | way-yish-maʿ ʾav-rām lə-qōl śā-rāy} uses the hearing verb with kol ‘voice’, conveying obedient response rather than mere perception. In rendering, hinneh-na becomes “See”/“Look” to engage the audience, milledet is rendered with “bearing”/“having children” to clarify infertility, and ibbaneh is kept as “be built up” to preserve the metaphor of lineage continuity.
Root and etymology
š-m-ʿ
“to hear, heed, obey”
In context — Genesis 16:2
Sarai said to Abram, “See, the LORD has kept me from bearing children. Go in to my maidservant; perhaps I will be built up through her.” Abram listened to Sarai’s voice.
About this coordinate
Genesis 16:2:13 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 13 of Genesis 16:2, so the Hebrew word וַיִּשְׁמַ֥ע (vayishma) 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.16.2.W13, which extends further down to each syllable (Gen.16.2.W13.S1) and character.