Numbers 16:30:5Num.16.30.W5TAB

וּבָלְעָה אֹתָם֙

uvalah otam

and swallows them

Transliteration
u-val-AH o-TAM
Extended
oo-val-AH oh-TAAM
IPA
/u.valˈʕaː ʔoˈtaːm/

Meaning by language

English
and swallows them

Alphabet Analysis

Vavv as in vine; marks long ō / ū
Betb with dagesh; v without dagesh
Qametslong 'ah'
Lamedl as in law
Shevavocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable
Ayindeep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal
Qametslong 'ah'
Heh as in house; silent at word end
Alephsilent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points
Holemlong 'oh' as in go
Tavt as in top
Qametslong 'ah'
Mem Sofitfinal form of Mem — at word end

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Vowels (Niqqud)

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The word

Word in context

  1. word

    u-val-AH o-TAM

  2. clause

    ve-IM-be-ri-AH yiv-RA e-lo-HIM u-fat-STAH ha-a-da-MAH et-PI-ha u-val-AH o-TAM ve-ET kol-a-SHER la-HEM ve-yor-DU kha-YIM she-O-la

  3. sentence

    ve-IM-be-ri-AH yiv-RA e-lo-HIM u-fat-STAH ha-a-da-MAH et-PI-ha u-val-AH o-TAM ve-ET kol-a-SHER la-HEM ve-yor-DU kha-YIM she-O-la vi-da-TEM ki-ni-a-TSU ha-a-na-SHIM ha-E-le et-Ye-ho-VAH

Exegesis

A sequence of vav-consecutive perfect verbs ūpāṣəṯāh {וּפָצְתָה | ū-pā-ṣə-ṯāh} “and it will open” and ūvālaʿāh {וּבָלְעָה | ū-vā-lə-ʿāh} “and it will swallow,” with hāʾăḏāmāh {הָאֲדָמָה | hā-ʾă-ḏā-māh} “the earth” as subject, portrays the earth’s judicial action.

Direct object markers ʾēṯ {אֶת־ | ʾēṯ} mark both pîhā {פִּיהָ | pî-hā} “its mouth” and ʾōṯām {אֹתָם | ʾō-ṭā-m} “them,” while the relative clause wə-ʾēṯ-kol-ʾăšer-lā-hem {וְאֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר לָהֶם | wə-ʾēṯ kol ʾă-šer lā-hem} “and all that belongs to them” indicates total inclusion.

In contextNumbers 16:30

But if the LORD creates a new thing , and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have despised the LORD.

About this coordinate

Numbers 16:30:5 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 5 of Numbers 16:30, so the Hebrew word וּבָלְעָה אֹתָם֙ (uvalah otam) 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 Num.16.30.W5, which extends further down to each syllable (Num.16.30.W5.S1) and character.