Proverbs 26:13:3Prov.26.13.W3TAB
שַׁ֣חַל
shakhal
“a lion”
- Transliteration
- SHA-khal
- Extended
- SHAH-khahl
- IPA
- /ˈʃaħal/
Meaning by language
- English
- a lion
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Chet | ch — deep guttural, as in Scottish loch | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Lamed | l as in law |
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The word
Word in context
- word
SHA-khal
- clause
a-MAR a-TSEL SHA-khal ba-DA-rekh
- sentence
a-MAR a-TSEL SHA-khal ba-DA-rekh a-RI BEN ha-re-KHO-vot
Exegesis
It employs parallel syntax with shachal {שַׁ֣חַל | šaḥal} ‘lion’ + badarekh {בַּדָּ֑רֶךְ | bad-dā-reḵ} ‘in the way’, followed by ari {אֲ֝רִ֗י | ʾarī} ‘lion’ + bein {בֵּ֣ן | bên} ‘between’ + harechovot {הָרְחֹבֽוֹת | hār-ḥō-ḇōṯ} ‘open squares’. This repetition emphasizes the sluggard’s exaggerated fear, and the spatial move from a general route to public squares heightens the poetic force. The English retains the Hebrew’s parallelism and progression to convey this rhetorical impact.
Root and etymology
RootShin–Chet–Lamed
“lion, wild beast”
In context — Proverbs 26:13
The sluggard says, “A lion is in the way; a lion is in the open squares .”
About this coordinate
Proverbs 26:13:3 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 3 of Proverbs 26:13, so the Hebrew word שַׁ֣חַל (shakhal) 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.26.13.W3, which extends further down to each syllable (Prov.26.13.W3.S1) and character.