Proverbs 20:4:2Prov.20.4.W2TAB

עָצֵ֣ל

atsel

a sluggard

Transliteration
a-TSEL
Extended
aa-TSEEL
IPA
/ʕaːˈtseːl/

Meaning by language

English
a sluggard

Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it

Result
עָ + צֵ֣ל
a + tsel
atsel

Alphabet Analysis

Ayindeep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal
Qametslong 'ah'
Tsadets as in cats
Tserelong 'ey' as in they
Lamedl as in law

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Vowels (Niqqud)

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The word

Word in context

  1. word

    a-TSEL

  2. clause

    ME-kho-ref a-TSEL LO-ya-kha-ROSH

  3. sentence

    ME-kho-ref a-TSEL LO-ya-kha-ROSH yi-she-AL ve-sha-AL ba-ka-TSIR va-A-yin

Exegesis

The subject atsel {עָצֵ֣ל | ʿā-ṣēl} ‘lazy person’ is immediately negated by lo-yaharosh {לֹא־יַחֲרֹשׁ | lōʾ-yaḥărōš} ‘will not plow’, indicating refusal to prepare.

Root and etymology

ע־צ־ל

to be sluggish, slothful

In contextProverbs 20:4

Because of the winter , the lazy person will not plow; he will ask and seek at harvest time, but there will be nothing .

About this coordinate

Proverbs 20:4:2 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 2 of Proverbs 20:4, so the Hebrew word עָצֵ֣ל (atsel) 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.20.4.W2, which extends further down to each syllable (Prov.20.4.W2.S1) and character.