Numbers 21:18:1Num.21.18.W1TAB
בְּאֵ֞ר
beer
“the well”
- Transliteration
- be-ER
- Extended
- beh-EER
- IPA
- /bəˈʔeːr/
Meaning by language
- English
- the well
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r |
Tap any letter to hear its name and sound
Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
be-ER
- clause
be-ER kha-fa-RU-ha sa-REEM ka-RU-ha ne-dee-VEI ha-AM bim-kho-KEK be-mish-a-no-TAM
- sentence
be-ER kha-fa-RU-ha sa-REEM ka-RU-ha ne-dee-VEI ha-AM bim-kho-KEK be-mish-a-no-TAM u-mim-mid-BAR ma-ta-NAH
Exegesis
The verse opens with the noun be’er {בְּאֵ֞ר | bĕ-ʾēr} ‘well’ as the discourse topic, followed by two parallel relative clauses with Qal perfect verbs khafaruha {חֲפָר֣וּהָ | ḥă-pā-rû-hā} ‘they dug it’ and karuha {כָּר֙וּהָ֙ | kā-rû-hā} ‘they bored it’, governed by sarim {שָׂרִ֗ים | śā-rîm} ‘princes’ and nedivei ha-am {נְדִיבֵ֣י הָעָ֔ם | nᵊ-dî-wē hā-ʿām} ‘nobles of the people’, emphasizing elite participation.
Root and etymology
ב־א־ר
“dig, excavate”
In context — Numbers 21:18
The well that the princes dug and that the nobles of the people bored out with the scepter and with their staffs. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah.
About this coordinate
Numbers 21:18:1 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 1 of Numbers 21:18, so the Hebrew word בְּאֵ֞ר (beer) 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.21.18.W1, which extends further down to each syllable (Num.21.18.W1.S1) and character.