Genesis 16:7:4Gen.16.7.W4TAB
עַל־עֵ֥ין
alen
“by a spring of”
- Transliteration
- al-EN
- Extended
- ahl-EHN
- IPA
- /ʕal.ˈʕeːn/
Meaning by language
- English
- by a spring of
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Nun Sofit | final form of Nun — at word end |
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Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
al-EN
- phraseyour reading level
al-EN ha-MA-yim
- clause
va-yim-tsa-AH mal-AKH Ye-ho-VAH al-EN ha-MA-yim bam-mid-BAR
- sentence
va-yim-tsa-AH mal-AKH Ye-ho-VAH al-EN ha-MA-yim bam-mid-BAR al-ha-A-yin be-DE-rekh SHUR
Exegesis
A succession of prepositional phrases—al-ein hamayim {עַל־עֵ֥ין הַמַּ֖יִם | ʿal-ʿên ham-mā-yim} ‘beside a spring of waters,’ bamidbar {בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר | bam-mid-bār} ‘in the wilderness,’ al-haayin {עַל־הָעַ֖יִן | ʿal-hā-ʿa-yin} ‘at the spring,’ and bə-de-rekh shur {בְּדֶ֥רֶךְ שֽׁוּר | bə-de-reḵ šûr} ‘on the way to Shur’—build layered geographical specificity. The repetition of ein and haayin underscores the focal life-sustaining water source in a barren setting. The translation retains this coordination while employing English terms like ‘found her’ and variations such as ‘road’ and ‘route’ to render the path to Shur.
Root and etymology
Rootʿ-y-n
“eye, spring (as an ‘eye’ of water)”
In context — Genesis 16:7
The angel of the LORD found her beside a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring along the road to Shur.
About this coordinate
Genesis 16:7:4 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 4 of Genesis 16:7, so the Hebrew word עַל־עֵ֥ין (alen) 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.16.7.W4, which extends further down to each syllable (Gen.16.7.W4.S1) and character.