Judges 20:28:15Judg.20.28.W15TAB
אִם־אֶחְדָּ֑ל
imekhdal
“or shall I cease”
- Transliteration
- im-ekh-DAL
- Extended
- ihm-ehkh-DAL
- IPA
- /ʔim.ʔɛħˈdːaːl/
Meaning by language
- English
- or shall I cease
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Mem Sofit | final form of Mem — at word end | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Chet | ch — deep guttural, as in Scottish loch | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Dalet | d as in door | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Lamed | l as in law |
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The word
Word in context
- word
im-ekh-DAL
- clause
u-fi-ne-KHAS ben-e-le-a-ZAR ben-a-ha-RON o-MED le-fa-NAV ba-ya-MIM ha-HEM le-MOR ha-o-SIF OD la-TSET la-mil-kha-MA im-be-NE-VIN-ya-min a-KHI im-ekh-DAL
- sentence
u-fi-ne-KHAS ben-e-le-a-ZAR ben-a-ha-RON o-MED le-fa-NAV ba-ya-MIM ha-HEM le-MOR ha-o-SIF OD la-TSET la-mil-kha-MA im-be-NE-VIN-ya-min a-KHI im-ekh-DAL va-yo-MER Ye-ho-VAH a-LU KI ma-KHAR et-te-NE-nu be-ya-DE-kha
Exegesis
The question clause combines the hif’il infinitive absolute ha-osif {הַאוֹסִף | ha-ʾō-sip̄} ‘shall I continue’ with the qal infinitive la-tset {לָצֵאת | lā-ṣē-ʾāṯ} ‘to go out’, expressing deliberation, and the conditional im-echdal {אִם־אֶחְדָּל | ʾim-ʾeḥ-dal} ‘if I cease’ completes the rhetorical question.
Root and etymology
חדל
“cease, desist”
In context — Judges 20:28
And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aharon, stood before the LORD in those days, saying, “Shall I go out again to battle the sons of Benjamin, my brother , or shall I cease?” And the LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.”
About this coordinate
Judges 20:28:15 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 15 of Judges 20:28, so the Hebrew word אִם־אֶחְדָּ֑ל (imekhdal) 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.20.28.W15, which extends further down to each syllable (Judg.20.28.W15.S1) and character.