Isaiah 19:11:12Isa.19.11.W12TAB
בֶּן־חֲכָמִ֥ים
benkhakhamim
“a son of wise men”
- Transliteration
- ben-kha-kha-MIM
- Extended
- behn-khah-khah-MEEM
- IPA
- /bɛn.ħăχaːˈmiːm/
Meaning by language
- English
- a son of wise men
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Nun Sofit | final form of Nun — at word end | |
| Chet | ch — deep guttural, as in Scottish loch | |
| Hateph Patach | reduced 'ah' | |
| Kaf | k with dagesh; kh without | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Mem Sofit | final form of Mem — at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
ben-kha-kha-MIM
- phraseyour reading level
ben-kha-kha-MIM a-NI
- clause
EKH to-me-RU el-far-O ben-kha-kha-MIM a-NI ben-mal-KHE-ke-DEM
- sentence
AKH-e-vi-LIM sa-RE TSO-an khakh-ME yo-a-TSE far-O E-tsa niv-a-RA EKH to-me-RU el-far-O ben-kha-kha-MIM a-NI ben-mal-KHE-ke-DEM
Exegesis
The rhetorical question eikh to’mru el-par’oh {אֵיךְ תֹּאמְרוּ אֶל־פַרְעֹ֔ה | ’êykh ṯō’ām-rū ’el-pā-rōʾ} ‘How can you say to Pharaoh’ introduces direct speech ben-chakhamim ani, ben-malkei-kedem {בֶּן־חֲכָמִ֥ים אֲנִי בֶּן־מַלְכֵי־קֶדֶם | ben-ḥă-ḵā-mîm ’ă-nî ben-mal-ḵêy-ḵê-dēm} ‘I am the son of wise men, the son of kings of old,’ employing parallelism to underscore the irony of asserting noble lineage. The English translations preserve the original’s construct chains and rhetorical emphasis.
Root and etymology
mem-yod-memm-y-m
“water”
In context — Isaiah 19:11
Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the wise counselors of Pharaoh—their counsel has become foolish—how can you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of wise men, the son of kings of old?”
About this coordinate
Isaiah 19:11:12 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 12 of Isaiah 19:11, so the Hebrew word בֶּן־חֲכָמִ֥ים (benkhakhamim) 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.19.11.W12, which extends further down to each syllable (Isa.19.11.W12.S1) and character.