Proverbs 30:4:2Prov.30.4.W2TAB
עָלָֽה־שָׁמַ֨יִם
alashamayim
“has gone up to heaven”
- Transliteration
- a-LA-sha-MA-yim
- Extended
- aa-LAA-shah-MAH-yihm
- IPA
- /ʕaːˈlaː.ʃaˈmajim/
Meaning by language
- English
- has gone up to heaven
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Mem Sofit | final form of Mem — at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
a-LA-sha-MA-yim
- phraseyour reading level
MI a-LA-sha-MA-yim va-YE-rad
- clause
MI a-LA-sha-MA-yim va-YE-rad MI a-SAF-RU-akh be-khof-NA-v MI tsa-RAR-ma-Yim ba-sim-LA MI he-KIM kol-af-SE-a-RETS
- sentence
MI a-LA-sha-MA-yim va-YE-rad MI a-SAF-RU-akh be-khof-NA-v MI tsa-RAR-ma-Yim ba-sim-LA MI he-KIM kol-af-SE-a-RETS ma-she-MO u-MA-shem-be-NO KI te-DA
Exegesis
The verse opens with an asyndetic series of interrogatives using mi {מִי | mî} ‘who’ to challenge the reader with divine feats.
The chiastic pair ‘ā-lāh {עָלָה | ‘ā-lāh} ‘ascended’ and wa-yê-rad {וַיֵּרַד | wa-yê-rad} ‘descended’ frames vertical divine movement.
Parallelly, ṣā-rar {צָרַר | ṣā-rar} ‘bound’ governs mayim {מַיִם | ma-yim} ‘waters’ in ba-śim-lāh {בַּשִּׂמְלָה | ba-śim-lāh} ‘in the garment’, extending the imagery of containment.
Root and etymology
Root‘ayin–lamed–heh
“to ascend”
In context — Proverbs 30:4
Who has ascended to the heavens and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists ? Who has bound the waters in the garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His son, if you know?
About this coordinate
Proverbs 30:4:2 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 2 of Proverbs 30:4, so the Hebrew word עָלָֽה־שָׁמַ֨יִם (alashamayim) 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.30.4.W2, which extends further down to each syllable (Prov.30.4.W2.S1) and character.