Isaiah 14:8:10Isa.14.8.W10TAB

עָלֵֽינוּ׃

alenu

against us

Transliteration
a-LE-nu
Extended
aa-LEE-noo
IPA
/ʕɔːˈleːnuː/

Meaning by language

English
against us

Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it

Result
עָ + לֵֽי + נוּ׃
a + le + nu
alenu

Alphabet Analysis

Ayindeep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal
Qametslong 'ah'
Lamedl as in law
Tserelong 'ey' as in they
Yody as in yes; marks long ī
Nunn as in new
Vavv as in vine; marks long ō / ū

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Vowels (Niqqud)

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The word

Word in context

  1. word

    a-LE-nu

  2. clause

    me-AZ sha-KHAV-ta lo-ya-a-LE ha-ko-RET a-LE-nu

  3. sentence

    gam-be-ro-SHIM sam-KHU le-KHA ar-ze le-va-NON me-AZ sha-KHAV-ta lo-ya-a-LE ha-ko-RET a-LE-nu

Exegesis

The temporal phrase meaz shakhavta {מֵאָז שָׁכַבְתָּ | mê-ʾāz sha-khav-tā} marks the point since “you laid down,” and the negated imperfect lo-yaaleh hakoret aleinu {לֹא־יַעֲלֶה הַכֹּרֵת עָלֵינוּ | lō-ya-ʿā-leh ha-kō-ret ʿā-le-nu} expresses the absence of the cutter, using the participle hakoret as a metaphor for the oppressor. This juxtaposition of perfect and imperfect forms heightens the irony of nature’s triumph in the former destroyer’s absence.

Root and etymology

ayin–waw–lamed

yoke

In contextIsaiah 14:8

Even the cypress trees rejoice for you, and the cedars of Lebanon proclaim, “Since you have lain down, the cutter has not risen against us.”

About this coordinate

Isaiah 14:8:10 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 10 of Isaiah 14:8, so the Hebrew word עָלֵֽינוּ׃ (alenu) 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.14.8.W10, which extends further down to each syllable (Isa.14.8.W10.S1) and character.