Proverbs 10:20:5Prov.10.20.W5TAB
לֵ֖ב
lev
“heart”
- Transliteration
- LEV
- Extended
- LEEV
- IPA
- /ˈleːv/
Meaning by language
- English
- heart
Alphabet Analysis
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh |
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The word
Word in context
- word
LEV
- clause
LEV re-sha-IM kim-E-AT
- sentence
KE-sef niv-KHAR le-SHON tsa-DIK LEV re-sha-IM kim-E-AT
Exegesis
The second clause reverses this pattern using the construct lēḇ rešaʿîm {לֵ֖ב רְשָׁעִ֣ים | lē-ḇ rĕ-šā-ʿîm} ‘heart of the wicked ones’ followed by the adverbial phrase kimmāṭ {כִּמְעָֽט | kĭ-mā-ṭ̄} ‘as little,’ indicating minimal value. The absence of an explicit conjunction in Hebrew is rendered in English with “but” to signal contrast. The use of the Niphal participle in the first clause emphasizes the elevated status of the righteous person’s speech, while the nominal predicate in the second clause underscores the deficient value in the wicked person’s heart.
Root and etymology
l-b-blamed–bet–beth
“heart, inner self”
In context — Proverbs 10:20
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is worth little .
About this coordinate
Proverbs 10:20:5 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 5 of Proverbs 10:20, so the Hebrew word לֵ֖ב (lev) 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 Prov.10.20.W5, which extends further down to each syllable (Prov.10.20.W5.S1) and character.