Judges 20:18:11Judg.20.18.W11TAB

בַתְּחִלָּ֔ה

batekhila

“at the beginning”

Transliteration: ba-te-khi-LA
Extended: bah-teh-khih-LAA
IPA: /bat.təħilˈlaː/

Meaning by language

English: at the beginning

Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it

Result

בַ + תְּ + חִ + לָּ֔ה

↓

ba + te + khi + la

↓

batekhila

Alphabet Analysis

	Bet	b with dagesh; v without dagesh
	Patach	short 'ah' as in father
	Tav	t as in top
	Sheva	vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable
	Chet	ch — deep guttural, as in Scottish loch
	Hireq	'ee' as in machine
	Lamed	l as in law
	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
ba-te-khi-LA
phraseyour reading level
ya-a-LE-la-NU ba-te-khi-LA
clause
va-ya-KU-mu va-ya-a-LU BET-EL va-yish-e-a-LU be-e-lo-HIM va-yo-ME-ru be-NE yis-ra-EL MI ya-a-LE-la-NU ba-te-khi-LA la-mil-kha-MA IM-be-NE bin-ya-MIN
sentence
va-ya-KU-mu va-ya-a-LU BET-EL va-yish-e-a-LU be-e-lo-HIM va-yo-ME-ru be-NE yis-ra-EL MI ya-a-LE-la-NU ba-te-khi-LA la-mil-kha-MA IM-be-NE bin-ya-MIN va-yo-MER Ye-ho-VAH ye-hu-DA ba-te-khi-LA

Exegesis

The interrogative mî {מִי | mî} ‘who’ frames the direct question, modified by the imperfect ya‘ăle-lānû {יַעֲלֶה־לָנוּ | ya‘ăle-lānû} ‘will go up for us’ and the priority phrase baṯ-tᵊḥillāh {בַּתְּחִלָּה | baṯ-tᵊḥillāh} ‘first’.

The response clause uses wayyōmer {וַיֹּאמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’, positioning Yᵊhōwāh {יְהוָה | Yᵊhōwāh} as the divine speaker and yᵊhûḏāh baṯ-tᵊḥillāh {יְהוּדָה בַּתְּחִלָּה | yᵊhûḏāh baṯ-tᵊḥillāh} ‘Judah first’ as the decisive answer. English word order preserves the vav narrative sequence and retains the interrogative structure to maintain narrative tension.

In context — Judges 20:18

And they rose and went up to Bethel, and they asked of God . The sons of Israel said, “Who shall go up first for us in battle against the sons of Benjamin?” And the LORD said, “Judah shall go up first.”

About this coordinate

Judges 20:18:11 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 11 of Judges 20:18, so the Hebrew word בַתְּחִלָּ֔ה (batekhila) 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.20.18.W11, which extends further down to each syllable (Judg.20.18.W11.S1) and character.

Read Judges 20:18 Read Judges 20