Genesis 18:29:6Gen.18.29.W6TAB
אוּלַ֛י
ulai
“perhaps”
- Transliteration
- u-LAI
- Extended
- oo-LAI
- IPA
- /ʔuːˈlaj/
Meaning by language
- English
- perhaps
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī |
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The word
Word in context
- word
u-LAI
- clause
va-yo-SEF OD le-dab-BER e-LAV va-yo-MAR u-LAI yim-ma-tse-UN SHAM ar-ba-IM
- sentence
va-yo-SEF OD le-dab-BER e-LAV va-yo-MAR u-LAI yim-ma-tse-UN SHAM ar-ba-IM va-yo-MER LO e-e-SE ba-a-VUR ha-ar-ba-IM
Exegesis
The particle ulai {אוּלַי | ʾû-lay} introduces a tentative, almost hesitant proposal, while the Niphal yimmatse’un {יִמָּצְאוּן | yim-mā-tsə-ʾûn} ‘might be found’ presents the presence of forty as a hoped-for possibility rather than a presumed fact.
In context — Genesis 18:29
And he continued speaking to Him , and said, “Perhaps forty might be found there.” And He said, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
About this coordinate
Genesis 18:29:6 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 6 of Genesis 18:29, so the Hebrew word אוּלַ֛י (ulai) 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.18.29.W6, which extends further down to each syllable (Gen.18.29.W6.S1) and character.