לְאָבִ֧י

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 לְאָבִ֧י

   le-a-VI

   to my father
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 הִנֵּ֨ה לְאָבִ֧י וּלְאִמִּ֛י

   hi-NE le-a-VI u-le-i-MI

   behold to my father and to my mother
3. clause🔊 וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לָ֗הּ הִנֵּ֨ה לְאָבִ֧י וּלְאִמִּ֛י לֹ֥א הִגַּ֖דְתִּי וְלָ֥ךְ אַגִּֽיד׃

   va-YO-mer LAH hi-NE le-a-VI u-le-i-MI LO hi-GAD-ti ve-LAKH a-GID

   and he said to her behold to my father and to my mother not I have told and to you shall I tell
4. sentence🔊 וַתֵּבְךְּ֩ אֵ֨שֶׁת שִׁמְשׁ֜וֹן עָלָ֗יו וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ רַק־שְׂנֵאתַ֙נִי֙ וְלֹ֣א אֲהַבְתָּ֔נִי הֽ͏ַחִידָ֥ה חַ֙דְתָּ֙ לִבְנֵ֣י עַמִּ֔י וְלִ֖י לֹ֣א הִגַּ֑דְתָּה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לָ֗הּ הִנֵּ֨ה לְאָבִ֧י וּלְאִמִּ֛י לֹ֥א הִגַּ֖דְתִּי וְלָ֥ךְ אַגִּֽיד׃

   va-TEV-kh E-shet shim-SHON a-LAV va-TO-mer rak-se-NE-ta-ni ve-LO a-hav-TA-ni ha-khi-DA KHAD-ta liv-NE a-MI ve-LI LO hi-GAD-ta va-YO-mer LAH hi-NE le-a-VI u-le-i-MI LO hi-GAD-ti ve-LAKH a-GID

   and she wept wife of Samson over him and she said only you hate me and not you love me the riddle you set forth to the sons of my people and to me not you have told and he said to her behold to my father and to my mother not I have told and to you shall I tell

Exegesis

The prepositional pair leavi uleimmi {לְאָבִי וּלְאִמִּי | ləʾāḇî ūləʾimmî} ‘to my father and to my mother’ frames the disclosure limits, and the imperfect agid {אַגִּידֽ | ʾaggîḏ} ‘shall I tell’ expresses a rhetorical question. Overall, the Hebrew use of waw-consecutive and construct chains drives the narrative’s emotional and relational dynamics.

Root and etymology

aleph-bet🔊 א־ב

“father, ancestor”

• 🔊 אָבִיavimy fatherGenesis 18:2