Judges 20:18:6Judg.20.18.W6TAB
וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙
vayomeru
“and they said”
- Transliteration
- va-yo-ME-ru
- Extended
- vah-yoh-MEH-roo
- IPA
- /vaj.joˈmruː/
Meaning by language
- English
- and they said
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Holem | long 'oh' as in go | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r | |
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū |
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The word
Word in context
- word
va-yo-ME-ru
- 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 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.
Root and etymology
א־מ־ר
“to speak, say”
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 20:18:6 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 6 of Judges 20:18, so the Hebrew word וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ (vayomeru) 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.W6, which extends further down to each syllable (Judg.20.18.W6.S1) and character.