Genesis 4:2:5Gen.4.2.W5TAB
וַֽיְהִי־הֶ֙בֶל֙
vayehihevel
“{And} Abel was”
- Transliteration
- va-ye-hi-HE-vel
- Extended
- vah-yeh-hee-HEH-vehl
- IPA
- /wa.jə.hiː.ˈhɛ.vɛl/
Meaning by language
- English
- {And} Abel was
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 | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Lamed | l as in law |
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The word
Word in context
- word
va-ye-hi-HE-vel
- clause
va-ye-hi-HE-vel RO-eh TSON ve-KAI-yin ha-YA o-VED a-da-MA
- sentence
va-TO-sef la-LE-det et-a-KHIV et-HE-vel va-ye-hi-HE-vel RO-eh TSON ve-KAI-yin ha-YA o-VED a-da-MA
Exegesis
The wayyiqtol vayehi {וַֽיְהִי־ | way·hî} ‘and he became’ shifts to role assignment.
Hevel {הֶבֶל | hā·ḇel} ‘Abel’ serves as subject of the participle roeh {רֹעֵה | rō·ʿē} ‘shepherd’, which takes tson {צֹאן | ṣō·ʾan} ‘flocks’ as its complement, defining Abel’s pastoral role.
In parallel, veqayin {וְקַיִן | wə·qa·yin} ‘and Cain’ introduces the adversative clause with hayah {הָיָה | hā·yāh} ‘he was’ plus the participle oved {עֹבֵד | ʿō·ḇēḏ} ‘worker’ and adamah {אֲדָמָה | ʾa·ḏā·māh} ‘ground’, contrasting Cain’s agricultural labor with Abel’s shepherding. English renders wayyiqtol as simple past and participles as stable titles.
Root and etymology
h-b-l
“breath, vapor”
In context — Genesis 4:2
She again gave birth to his brother Abel , and Abel became one who tended flocks, while Cain worked the soil.
About this coordinate
Genesis 4:2:5 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 5 of Genesis 4:2, so the Hebrew word וַֽיְהִי־הֶ֙בֶל֙ (vayehihevel) 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.4.2.W5, which extends further down to each syllable (Gen.4.2.W5.S1) and character.