Nehemiah 13:17:7Neh.13.17.W7TAB
מָֽה־הַדָּבָ֨ר
mahadavar
“what is the matter or the thing”
- Transliteration
- ma-ha-da-VAR
- Extended
- maa-hah-dah-VAAR
- IPA
- /maː.had.daːˈvaːr/
Meaning by language
- English
- what is the matter or the thing
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Dalet | d as in door | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r |
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The word
Word in context
- word
ma-ha-da-VAR
- phraseyour reading level
ma-ha-da-VAR ha-RA ha-ZE
- clause
va-om-RA la-HEM ma-ha-da-VAR ha-RA ha-ZE a-SHER a-TEM o-SIM u-me-khal-le-LIM et-YOM ha-sha-BAT
- sentence
va-a-ri-VA ET kho-RE ye-hu-DA va-om-RA la-HEM ma-ha-da-VAR ha-RA ha-ZE a-SHER a-TEM o-SIM u-me-khal-le-LIM et-YOM ha-sha-BAT
Exegesis
The interrogative mah-hadavar {מָֽה־הַדָּבָ֨ר | mā(h)-haḏ·dā·ḇār} ‘what the thing’, combined with the adjective hara {הָרָ֤ע | hā·rāʿ} ‘evil’ and demonstrative hazeh {הַזֶּה | ha·zzeh} ‘this’, intensifies the question’s force, while the relative asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾă·šer} ‘that’ links to the participle osim {עֹשִׂ֔ים | ʿō·šîm} ‘are doing’.
In context — Nehemiah 13:17
And I contended with the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing in profaning the Sabbath day?”
About this coordinate
Nehemiah 13:17:7 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 7 of Nehemiah 13:17, so the Hebrew word מָֽה־הַדָּבָ֨ר (mahadavar) 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 Neh.13.17.W7, which extends further down to each syllable (Neh.13.17.W7.S1) and character.