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

Result
וַ + יִּשְׁ + מַ֣ע
va + yish + ma
vayishma

Alphabet Analysis

Vavv as in vine; marks long ō / ū
Patachshort 'ah' as in father
Yody as in yes; marks long ī
Hireq'ee' as in machine
Shinshin with right dot; sin with left dot
Shevasilent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable
Memm as in mother
Patachshort 'ah' as in father
Ayindeep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal

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Vowels (Niqqud)

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The word

Word in context

  1. word

    va-yish-MA

  2. phraseyour reading level

    va-yish-MA ko-LE-nu

  3. 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

  4. 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 contextNumbers 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.