Judges 20:12:8Judg.20.12.W8TAB

מָ֚ה

“what”

Transliteration: MA
Extended: MAA
IPA: /ˈmaː/

Meaning by language

English: what

Alphabet Analysis

	Mem	m as in mother
	Qamets	long 'ah'
	He	h as in house; silent at word end

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Vowels (Niqqud)

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The word

Word in context

word
MA
clause
MA ha-ra-A ha-ZOT a-SHER nih-ye-TA ba-KHEM
sentence
va-yish-le-KHU shiv-TE yis-ra-EL a-na-SHIM be-khol-shiv-TE vin-ya-MIN le-MOR MA ha-ra-A ha-ZOT a-SHER nih-ye-TA ba-KHEM

Exegesis

The interrogative mā́h {מָ֚ה | mā́h} “what,” with the demonstrative haz-zôṯ {הַזֹּ֔את | haz-zôṯʹ} “this” and the noun ha-rā-ʿā́h {הָרָעָה֣ | ha-rā-ʿā́h} “evil,” frames the moral question.

Root and etymology

z-m-mzayin–mem–mem

“to devise evil, immoral intent”

In context — Judges 20:12

Then the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the whole tribe of Benjamin to say, “What is this evil that has happened among you?”

About this coordinate

Judges 20:12:8 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 8 of Judges 20:12, so the Hebrew word מָ֚ה (ma) 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 Judg.20.12.W8, which extends further down to each syllable (Judg.20.12.W8.S1) and character.

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