Leviticus 20:3:15Lev.20.3.W15TAB
טַמֵּא֙
tame
“defile”
- Transliteration
- ta-ME
- Extended
- tah-MEH
- IPA
- /tamˈmeː/
Meaning by language
- English
- defile
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Tet | t — emphatic | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points |
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The word
Word in context
- word
ta-ME
- clause
KI miz-zar-O na-TAN la-MO-lekh le-MA-an ta-ME et-mik-da-SHI u-le-kha-LEL et-SHEM kad-SHI
- sentence
va-a-NI e-TEN et-pa-NAI ba-ISH ha-HU ve-hikh-ra-TEE o-TO mi-KE-REV am-MO KI miz-zar-O na-TAN la-MO-lekh le-MA-an ta-ME et-mik-da-SHI u-le-kha-LEL et-SHEM kad-SHI
Exegesis
The purpose clause introduced by lə-maʿăn {לְמַ֗עַן | lə-maʿăn} ‘in order to’ uses the infinitives ṭammeʾ {טַמֵּא | ṭammeʾ} ‘to defile’ and wə-lə-ḥallēl {וּלְחַלֵּ֖ל | wə-lə-ḥallēl} ‘to profane’, applying to ʾet-miqdāšî {אֶת־מִקְדָּשִׁי | ʾet-miqdāšî} ‘my sanctuary’ and ʾet-šēm qōdešî {אֶת־שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי | ʾet-šēm qōdešî} ‘my holy name’. This structure underscores divine resolve and the seriousness of profaning what is sacred.
Root and etymology
Roott-m-ʾ
“to be unclean”
In context — Leviticus 20:3
I will set my face against that man and will cut him off from the midst of his people because he gave some of his offspring to Molekh to defile my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.
About this coordinate
Leviticus 20:3:15 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 15 of Leviticus 20:3, so the Hebrew word טַמֵּא֙ (tame) 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 Lev.20.3.W15, which extends further down to each syllable (Lev.20.3.W15.S1) and character.