Numbers 18:5:1Num.18.5.W1TAB
וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֗ם
ushmartem
“and you shall keep”
- Transliteration
- u-shmar-TEM
- Extended
- oo-shmahr-TEM
- IPA
- /uʃmarˈtem/
Meaning by language
- English
- and you shall keep
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| 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 | |
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Tav | t as in top | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Mem Sofit | final form of Mem — at word end |
Tap any letter to hear its name and sound
Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
u-shmar-TEM
- clause
u-shmar-TEM ET mish-me-RET ha-KO-desh ve-ET mish-me-RET ham-miz-BE-akh
- sentence
u-shmar-TEM ET mish-me-RET ha-KO-desh ve-ET mish-me-RET ham-miz-BE-akh ve-LO-yi-he-YEH OD KE-tsef al-be-NEI yis-ra-EL
Exegesis
The verse begins with the vav-conversive in ushmartem {וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֗ם | ūšmartem} ‘and you shall keep,’ converting the Qal perfect into an imperative-like command directed to the priests.
Root and etymology
ש־מ־ר
“to guard, keep”
In context — Numbers 18:5
And you shall keep the duty of the sanctuary and the altar, so that there will not be again wrath upon the sons of Israel.
About this coordinate
Numbers 18:5:1 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 1 of Numbers 18:5, so the Hebrew word וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֗ם (ushmartem) 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.18.5.W1, which extends further down to each syllable (Num.18.5.W1.S1) and character.