Numbers 16:4:1Num.16.4.W1TAB
וַיִּשְׁמַע
vayishma
“when he heard”
- Transliteration
- va-yish-MA
- Extended
- vah-yish-MAH
- IPA
- /vajjiʃˈmaʕ/
Meaning by language
- English
- when he heard
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal |
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The word
Word in context
- word
va-yish-MA
- sentence
va-yish-MA mo-SHEH va-yip-OL al-pa-NAIV
Exegesis
The narrative opens with the vav-consecutive + Qal imperfect vayishma {וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע | wayyišmaʿ} ‘and he heard’, signalling sequential action.
Root and etymology
š-m-ʿshin–mem–ʿayin
“to hear”
In context — Numbers 16:4
Moses heard, and he fell upon his face .
About this coordinate
Numbers 16:4:1 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 1 of Numbers 16:4, so the Hebrew word וַיִּשְׁמַע (vayishma) 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.16.4.W1, which extends further down to each syllable (Num.16.4.W1.S1) and character.