Genesis 17:18:5Gen.17.18.W5TAB
יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל
yishmael
“Ishmael”
- Transliteration
- yish-ma-EL
- Extended
- yihsh-mah-EHL
- IPA
- /jiʃ.ma.ˈʕeːl/
Meaning by language
- English
- Ishmael
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| 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 | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Lamed | l as in law |
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The word
Word in context
- word
yish-ma-EL
- phraseyour reading level
LU yish-ma-EL
- clause
LU yish-ma-EL yikh-YEH le-fa-NE-kha
- sentence
va-YO-mer av-ra-HAM el-ha-e-lo-HIM LU yish-ma-EL yikh-YEH le-fa-NE-kha
Exegesis
The internal word order of the wish clause is lu + subject + verb + prepositional phrase: lu Yishmaʿel yichyeh lefanekha {ל֥וּ יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל יִחְיֶ֥ה לְפָנֶֽיךָ | lû yiš-mā-ʿēl yiḥ-yeh lə-fā-ne-kā}. Placing the particle first foregrounds the emotional tone (“O that…”), followed by Yishmaʿel to highlight Abraham’s concern.
Root and etymology
š-m-ʿshin–mem–ayin
“to hear, to listen”
In context — Genesis 17:18
Abraham said to God , “May Ishmael live before You !”
About this coordinate
Genesis 17:18:5 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 5 of Genesis 17:18, so the Hebrew word יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל (yishmael) 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.17.18.W5, which extends further down to each syllable (Gen.17.18.W5.S1) and character.