Genesis 38:21:1Gen.38.21.W1TAB
וַיִּשְׁאַ֞ל
vayishal
“he asked”
- Transliteration
- va-yish-AL
- Extended
- vah-yihsh-AHL
- IPA
- /waj.jiʃ.ˈʔal/
Meaning by language
- English
- he asked
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 | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Lamed | l as in law |
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The word
Word in context
- word
va-yish-AL
- clause
va-yish-AL et-an-SHEI me-ko-MAH le-MOR ai-YEH hak-ke-de-SHA HI va-ei-NA-yim al-had-DA-rekh
- sentence
va-yish-AL et-an-SHEI me-ko-MAH le-MOR ai-YEH hak-ke-de-SHA HI va-ei-NA-yim al-had-DA-rekh va-yom-RU lo-ha-ye-TA va-ZEH ke-de-SHA
Exegesis
The verse employs standard Hebrew narrative sequencing with the wayyiqtol verbs vayishal {וַיִּשְׁאַ֞ל | wayyišʾal} ‘and he asked’ and vayomru {וַיֹּאמְר֔וּ | wayyōʾmrū} ‘and they said,’ marking successive actions.
Root and etymology
ש־א־ל
“to ask, request”
In context — Genesis 38:21
And he asked the men of her place , “Where is the sacred prostitute who was at Enaim on the road?” And they said, “There has not been any sacred prostitute here.”
About this coordinate
Genesis 38:21:1 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 1 of Genesis 38:21, so the Hebrew word וַיִּשְׁאַ֞ל (vayishal) 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.38.21.W1, which extends further down to each syllable (Gen.38.21.W1.S1) and character.