Isaiah 14:17:3Isa.14.17.W3TAB
כַּמִּדְבָּ֖ר
khamidbar
“like the wilderness or like the desert”
- Transliteration
- kha-mid-BAR
- Extended
- khah-mihd-BAAR
- IPA
- /kʰam.midˈbaːr/
Meaning by language
- English
- like the wilderness or like the desert
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Kaf | k with dagesh; kh without | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Dalet | d as in door | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r |
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The word
Word in context
- word
kha-mid-BAR
- clause
SAM te-VEL kha-mid-BAR ve-a-RAV ha-RAS
- sentence
SAM te-VEL kha-mid-BAR ve-a-RAV ha-RAS a-si-RAV lo-FA-takh BAI-ta
Exegesis
The prepositional phrase ka-mid-bār {כַּמִּדְבָּ֖ר | kă-mid-bār} ‘like a wilderness’ intensifies the scope of desolation, while the construct chain wə-‘ārāv {וְעָרָ֣יו | wə-‘ārāv} ‘and its cities’ directly ties urban ruin to the world (tēvél {תֵּבֵ֛ל | tēvél} ‘world’).
Root and etymology
ד־ב־ר
“desert, uninhabited place”
In context — Isaiah 14:17
He made the world a wilderness and destroyed its cities; he did not let his prisoners go home.
About this coordinate
Isaiah 14:17:3 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 3 of Isaiah 14:17, so the Hebrew word כַּמִּדְבָּ֖ר (khamidbar) 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 Isa.14.17.W3, which extends further down to each syllable (Isa.14.17.W3.S1) and character.