John 16:18:12John.16.18.W12TAB
λαλεῖ.
lalei
“he is speaking”
- Transliteration
- la-LEI
- Extended
- la-LEI
- IPA
- /laˈleː/
Meaning by language
- English
- he is speaking
Greek · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Lambda | l — as in law | |
| Alpha | ah — as in father | |
| Lambda | l — as in law | |
| Epsilon | e — as in met (short) | |
| Iota | i — as in machine |
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The word
Word in context
- word
la-LEI
- sentence
OUK OI-da-men TI la-LEI
Exegesis
The second clause, ouk oidamen ti lalei {οὐκ οἴδαμεν τί λαλεῖ | ouk oí-da-men tí la-leî}, intensifies the point by using the perfect oidamen {οἴδαμεν | oí-da-men}, which conveys a settled state of not knowing.
The present tense of lalei {λαλεῖ | la-leî} keeps Jesus’ speech immediate and ongoing, while the indirect question shows that the problem is not hearing but comprehension. In translation, the Greek’s two-layered questioning is rendered as natural English uncertainty without flattening the repeated, unfinished feel created by the imperfect and present verbs.
Root and etymology
laleola-le-o
“to speak, talk”
In context — John 16:18
So they were saying, “What is this ‘little while’ that He is saying? We do not grasp what He is saying.”
About this coordinate
John 16:18:12 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 12 of John 16:18, so the Greek word λαλεῖ. (lalei) 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 John.16.18.W12, which extends further down to each syllable (John.16.18.W12.S1) and character.