Jeremiah 20:18:1Jer.20.18.W1TAB
לָ֤מָּה
lama
“why”
- Transliteration
- LA-ma
- Extended
- LAA-mah
- IPA
- /ˈlaːm.maː/
Meaning by language
- English
- why
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
LA-ma
- phraseyour reading level
LA-ma ZE
- clause
LA-ma ZE me-RE-khem ya-TSA-ti lir-e-OT a-MAL ve-ya-GON
- sentence
LA-ma ZE me-RE-khem ya-TSA-ti lir-e-OT a-MAL ve-ya-GON va-yikh-LU be-VO-shet ya-MAI
Exegesis
The verse opens with the interrogative adverb lama {לָ֤מָּה | lāmmāh} ‘why’ introducing a rhetorical lament, immediately followed by the demonstrative pronoun zeh {זֶּה֙ | zeh} ‘this,’ intensifying the complaint.
Root and etymology
l-m-hlamed–mem–heh
“why, for what reason”
In context — Jeremiah 20:18
Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, and to have my days consumed in shame ?
About this coordinate
Jeremiah 20:18:1 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 1 of Jeremiah 20:18, so the Hebrew word לָ֤מָּה (lama) 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 Jer.20.18.W1, which extends further down to each syllable (Jer.20.18.W1.S1) and character.