Numbers 20:4:1Num.20.4.W1TAB
וְלָמָ֤ה
velama
“And why”
- Transliteration
- ve-la-MA
- Extended
- veh-lah-MAH
- IPA
- /vəlaˈma/
Meaning by language
- English
- And why
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end |
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Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
ve-la-MA
- phraseyour reading level
ve-la-MA ha-ve-TEM
- clause
ve-la-MA ha-ve-TEM et-ke-HAL Ye-ho-VAH el-ham-mid-BAR ha-ZEH
- sentence
ve-la-MA ha-ve-TEM et-ke-HAL Ye-ho-VAH el-ham-mid-BAR ha-ZEH la-MUT SHAM a-NAKH-nu u-ve-i-RE-nu
Exegesis
The question opens with ve-lā-māh {וְלָמָ֤ה | wə-lā-māh} ‘and why’, marking protest.
In context — Numbers 20:4
And why have you brought the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness , that we and our cattle should die there?
About this coordinate
Numbers 20:4:1 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 1 of Numbers 20:4, so the Hebrew word וְלָמָ֤ה (velama) 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.20.4.W1, which extends further down to each syllable (Num.20.4.W1.S1) and character.