שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗עַ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗עַ

   sho-ME-a

   listening
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 וְאִ֥ישׁ שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗עַ

   ve-ISH sho-ME-a

   and a man listening
3. clause🔊 וְאִ֥ישׁ שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗עַ לָנֶ֥צַח יְדַבֵּֽר׃

   ve-ISH sho-ME-a la-NE-tsakh ye-dab-BER

   and a man listening forever will speak
4. sentence🔊 עֵד־כְּזָבִ֥ים יֹאבֵ֑ד וְאִ֥ישׁ שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗עַ לָנֶ֥צַח יְדַבֵּֽר׃

   ed-ke-za-VIM yo-a-VED ve-ISH sho-ME-a la-NE-tsakh ye-dab-BER

   a witness of lies will perish and a man listening forever will speak

Exegesis

The second clause begins with ve-ish {וְאִישׁ | wə-ʾîš} ‘and man’ plus the participle shomea {שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗עַ | šō-mē-aʿ} used substantively as ‘one who hears,’ followed by the prepositional phrase lanetzach {לָנֶצַח | lā-ne-ṣaḥ} indicating duration ‘forever,’ and concludes with the Piel imperfect yedabber {יְדַבֵּֽר | yə-dab-bēr} ‘will speak,’ emphasizing sustained testimony. The parallelism contrasts the demise of deceit with the enduring nature of receptive speech.

Root and etymology

š-m-ʿ🔊 שׁ־מ֫עshin–mem–ayin

“to hear, listen”

• 🔊 שְׁמַעšə-maʿhearDeuteronomy 6:4