Lamentations 3:39:1Lam.3.39.W1TAB
מַה־יִּתְאוֹנֵן֙
mayitonein
“why should he complain”
- Transliteration
- ma-yit-o-NEIN
- Extended
- mah-yit-oh-NEEN
- IPA
- /mah.jit.ʔoːˈneːn/
Meaning by language
- English
- why should he complain
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Tav | t as in top | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Holem | long 'oh' as in go | |
| Nun | n as in new | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Nun Sofit | final form of Nun — at word end |
Tap any letter to hear its name and sound
Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
ma-yit-o-NEIN
- sentence
ma-yit-o-NEIN a-DAM KHAI GE-ver al-khe-TO kha-ta-AV
Exegesis
The verse is framed as a rhetorical question, fronting mah-yitʾonen {מַה־יִּתְאוֹנֵן֙ | mah-yitʾōnēn} ‘why does he complain?’ to challenge the legitimacy of protest.
Root and etymology
consonantsaleph–nun–nun
“to lament, complain”
In context — Lamentations 3:39
Why would a living man complain, a man, because of his sin, his sins?
About this coordinate
Lamentations 3:39:1 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 1 of Lamentations 3:39, so the Hebrew word מַה־יִּתְאוֹנֵן֙ (mayitonein) 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 Lam.3.39.W1, which extends further down to each syllable (Lam.3.39.W1.S1) and character.