Numbers 20:5:1Num.20.5.W1TAB

וְלָמָ֤ה

velama

“and why”

Transliteration: ve-la-MA
Extended: veh-laa-MAH
IPA: /vɛlaˈmaː/

Meaning by language

English: and why

Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it

Result

וְ + לָ + מָ֤ה

↓

ve + la + ma

↓

velama

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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Vowels (Niqqud)

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The word

Word in context

word
ve-la-MA
phraseyour reading level
ve-la-MA he-e-li-TU-nu
clause
ve-la-MA he-e-li-TU-nu mi-mits-RA-yim le-ha-VI o-TA-nu el-ha-ma-KOM ha-RA ha-ZEH
sentence
ve-la-MA he-e-li-TU-nu mi-mits-RA-yim le-ha-VI o-TA-nu el-ha-ma-KOM ha-RA ha-ZEH LO me-KOM ZE-ra u-te-e-NA ve-GE-fen ve-ri-MON u-MA-yim A-yin lish-TOT

Exegesis

The interrogative opening velamah {וְלָמָה | wə-lā-māh} ‘and why’ foregrounds the complaint.

In context — Numbers 20:5

And why did you bring us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain, figs, vines, or pomegranates , nor is there water to drink.

About this coordinate

Numbers 20:5:1 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 1 of Numbers 20:5, 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.20.5.W1, which extends further down to each syllable (Num.20.5.W1.S1) and character.

Read Numbers 20:5 Read Numbers 20