Genesis 47:8:5Gen.47.8.W5TAB
יְמֵ֖י
yemei
“days of”
- Transliteration
- ye-MEI
- Extended
- yeh-MEE
- IPA
- /jə.ˈmeː/
Meaning by language
- English
- days of
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī |
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The word
Word in context
- word
ye-MEI
- clause
kam-MA ye-MEI she-NEI khai-YEI-kha
- sentence
va-YO-mer par-O el-ya-a-KOV kam-MA ye-MEI she-NEI khai-YEI-kha
Exegesis
The interrogative kammah {כַּמָּה | kam-māh} ‘how many’ governs the construct chain yemei shnei khayyekha {יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיֶּיךָ | yə-mê šə-nê ḥay-ye-ḵā}, stacking ‘days of the years of your life’ to convey age in a formal, honorific manner. Syntactically, this construct chain functions as the complement of the implied verb “are” in the question. In the formal reconstruction, this layered structure is retained, whereas the dynamic reconstruction converts the formal expression into the idiomatic query “How many years have you lived?” to capture the polite inquiry about total lifespan.
In context — Genesis 47:8
Then Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days in the years of your life?”
About this coordinate
Genesis 47:8:5 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 5 of Genesis 47:8, so the Hebrew word יְמֵ֖י (yemei) 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.47.8.W5, which extends further down to each syllable (Gen.47.8.W5.S1) and character.