Numbers 20:16:3Num.20.16.W3TAB
וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע
vayishma
“and he heard”
- Transliteration
- va-yish-MA
- Extended
- vah-yish-MAH
- IPA
- /vajjiʃˈmaʕ/
Meaning by language
- English
- and 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 |
Tap any letter to hear its name and sound
Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
va-yish-MA
- phraseyour reading level
va-yish-MA ko-LE-nu
- clause
va-nits-AK el-ye-ho-VAH va-yish-MA ko-LE-nu va-yish-LAKH mal-AKH va-yo-tsi-E-nu mi-mits-RA-yim
- sentence
va-nits-AK el-ye-ho-VAH va-yish-MA ko-LE-nu va-yish-LAKH mal-AKH va-yo-tsi-E-nu mi-mits-RA-yim ve-hi-NEH a-NAKH-nu be-ka-DESH IR ke-TSEH ge-vu-LE-kha
Exegesis
The verse unfolds with a sequence of Hebrew vav-consecutive imperfect verbs: vannitsaq {וַנִּצְעַ֤ק | vān-nî-ṣaq} ‘and we cried out’, wayyišmāʿ {וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע | wayyišmāʿ} ‘and He heard’, wayyišlāḥ {וַיִּשְׁלַ֣ח | wayyišlāḥ} ‘and He sent’, and wayyōṣēʾēnû {وַיֹּצִאֵ֖נוּ | wayyōṣēʾēnû} ‘and He brought us out’, propelling the narrative.
Root and etymology
Rootš-m-ʿ
“to hear”
In context — Numbers 20:16
When we cried out to the LORD , He heard our voice and sent a messenger to bring us out of Egypt. Now we stand in Kadesh, a city at the edge of Your border.
About this coordinate
Numbers 20:16:3 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 3 of Numbers 20:16, so the Hebrew word וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע (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.20.16.W3, which extends further down to each syllable (Num.20.16.W3.S1) and character.