Numbers 24:1:12Num.24.1.W12TAB
נְחָשִׁ֑ים
nekhashim
“omens”
- Transliteration
- ne-kha-SHIM
- Extended
- neh-kha-SHEEM
- IPA
- /nəħaˈʃim/
Meaning by language
- English
- omens
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Nun | n as in new | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Chet | ch — deep guttural, as in Scottish loch | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Mem Sofit | final form of Mem — at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
ne-kha-SHIM
- phraseyour reading level
lik-RAT ne-kha-SHIM
- clause
va-YAR bil-AM KI TOV be-ey-NEI Ye-ho-VAH le-va-REKH ET-Yis-ra-EL ve-LO-ha-LAKH ke-PA-am-be-PA-am lik-RAT ne-kha-SHIM
- sentence
va-YAR bil-AM KI TOV be-ey-NEI Ye-ho-VAH le-va-REKH ET-Yis-ra-EL ve-LO-ha-LAKH ke-PA-am-be-PA-am lik-RAT ne-kha-SHIM va-YA-shet el-ham-mid-BAR pa-NAV
Exegesis
The negated perfect velo-halak ke-paam-be-faam {וְלֹא־הָלַךְ כְּפַעַם־בְּפַעַם | wə-lōʾ-hālak kə-p̄aʿam bə-p̄aʿam} contrasts this instance with Balaam’s habitual pursuit of divination (likrat nechashim {לִקְרַאת נְחָשִׁים | li-qrāṯ ne-ḥā-šîm}).
Root and etymology
n-ḥ-shnun–het–shin
“to practice divination, foretell”
In context — Numbers 24:1
And Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of the LORD to bless Israel, and he did not go as at other times to seek omens , but he turned his face toward the wilderness.
About this coordinate
Numbers 24:1:12 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 12 of Numbers 24:1, so the Hebrew word נְחָשִׁ֑ים (nekhashim) 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.24.1.W12, which extends further down to each syllable (Num.24.1.W12.S1) and character.