Job 21:15:2Job.21.15.W2TAB
כִּֽי־נַֽעַבְדֶ֑נּוּ
kinaavedenu
“that we should serve him”
- Transliteration
- ki-na-a-ve-DE-nu
- Extended
- kee-nah-ah-veh-DEH-nu
- IPA
- /kiː.na.ʕav.dɛˈnːuː/
Meaning by language
- English
- that we should serve him
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Kaf | k with dagesh; kh without | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Nun | n as in new | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Dalet | d as in door | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Nun | n as in new | |
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū |
Tap any letter to hear its name and sound
Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
ki-na-a-ve-DE-nu
- clause
ma-SHA-dai ki-na-a-ve-DE-nu
- sentence
ma-SHA-dai ki-na-a-ve-DE-nu u-ma-NO-il KI nif-GA-vo
Exegesis
The verse unfolds as two parallel rhetorical questions led by the interrogative mah {מַה | mǎh} ‘what’, each introduced by the conjunction kî {כִּי | kî} ‘that, because’.
The first clause centers on the verb form naʿăb·dēnû {נַֽעַבְדֶ֑נּוּ | naʿăb·dēnû} ‘we would serve Him’, expressing potential action; the second employs the causative stem nōʿîl {נּוֹעִיל | nōʿîl} ‘would we profit’, followed by the reflexive stem nip̂gaʿ-bō {נִפְגַּע־בּֽוֹ | nip̂gaʿ-bō} ‘we would entreat Him’ to convey petition.
Root and etymology
ʿ-b-d‘-b-d
“to serve, work, worship”
In context — Job 21:15
What is the Almighty that we should serve Him? And what benefit do we have that we should entreat Him?
About this coordinate
Job 21:15:2 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 2 of Job 21:15, so the Hebrew word כִּֽי־נַֽעַבְדֶ֑נּוּ (kinaavedenu) 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 Job.21.15.W2, which extends further down to each syllable (Job.21.15.W2.S1) and character.