Isaiah 21:11:7Isa.21.11.W7TAB
מַה־מִלַּ֔יְלָה
mamilaila
“what of the night”
- Transliteration
- ma-mi-LAI-la
- Extended
- mah-mih-LAI-lah
- IPA
- /mah.milːajˈlaː/
Meaning by language
- English
- what of the night
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
ma-mi-LAI-la
- clause
e-LAI ko-RE mis-se-IR sho-MER ma-mi-LAI-la sho-MER ma-mi-LEL
- sentence
ma-SA du-MA e-LAI ko-RE mis-se-IR sho-MER ma-mi-LAI-la sho-MER ma-mi-LEL
Exegesis
The vocative shomer {שֹׁמֵר | šō-mēr} ‘watchman’ is repeated twice, each occurrence paired with the interrogative mah {מַה | mah} ‘what’ and the constructs milailah {מִלַּיְלָה | mi-lāy-lāh} and milel {מִלֵּיל | mi-lêl} ‘from the night.’ This parallelism heightens the sense of urgent inquiry. The English preserves the Hebrew word order and the rhythmic repetition to convey suspense.
Root and etymology
l-y-llamed–yod–lamed
“night”
In context — Isaiah 21:11
The oracle concerning Dumah. Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman , what of the night ? Watchman, what of the night?”
About this coordinate
Isaiah 21:11:7 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 7 of Isaiah 21:11, so the Hebrew word מַה־מִלַּ֔יְלָה (mamilaila) 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.21.11.W7, which extends further down to each syllable (Isa.21.11.W7.S1) and character.