Genesis 18:10:12Gen.18.10.W12TAB
פֶּ֥תַח
petakh
“entrance of”
- Transliteration
- PE-takh
- Extended
- PEH-tahkh
- IPA
- /ˈpɛ.taħ/
Meaning by language
- English
- entrance of
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Pe | p with dagesh; f without | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Tav | t as in top | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Chet | ch — deep guttural, as in Scottish loch |
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The word
Word in context
- word
PE-takh
- phraseyour reading level
PE-takh ha-O-hel
- clause
ve-sa-RA sho-MA-at PE-takh ha-O-hel ve-HU a-kha-RAV
- sentence
va-YO-mer SHOV a-SHUV e-LE-kha ka-ET khai-YA ve-hin-neh-VEN le-sa-RA ish-TE-kha ve-sa-RA sho-MA-at PE-takh ha-O-hel ve-HU a-kha-RAV
Exegesis
The prepositional phrase petach haohel {פֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל | pe-taḥ hā-ʾō-hel} specifies her location at the tent entrance, while vehu akharav {וְהוּא אַחֲרָיו | wə-hû ʾa-ḥa-rāyw} ‘and he/it was behind him’ leaves the precise referent somewhat ambiguous in Hebrew. The translation resolves this as a relative clause, “which was behind him,” taking the entrance as the subject to give smooth English while reflecting the spatial relationship implied in the Hebrew. The emphatic verbal construction is represented more literally in the formal rendering (“Returning I will return”) and with explicit adverbial reinforcement in the dynamic rendering (“I will surely come back”), both preserving the certainty of the promised visitation.
Root and etymology
p-t-ḥpe–tav–chet
“to open, opening”
In context — Genesis 18:10
And He said, “Returning I will return to you at the appointed time of life; and behold, a son for Sarah your wife.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him.
About this coordinate
Genesis 18:10:12 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 12 of Genesis 18:10, so the Hebrew word פֶּ֥תַח (petakh) 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.18.10.W12, which extends further down to each syllable (Gen.18.10.W12.S1) and character.