Proverbs 5:20:1Prov.5.20.W1TAB
וְלָ֤מָּה
velama
“and why”
- Transliteration
- ve-la-MA
- Extended
- veh-laa-MAA
- IPA
- /vɛlaːˈmaː/
Meaning by language
- English
- and why
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end |
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Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
ve-la-MA
- clause
ve-la-MA tish-ge ve-NI ve-za-RA
- sentence
ve-la-MA tish-ge ve-NI ve-za-RA u-te-kha-BEK KHEK nokh-ri-YA
Exegesis
The verse begins with the interrogative velamah {וְלָ֤מָּה | wə-lāmāh} linking this question to earlier warnings.
In context — Proverbs 5:20
And why would you, my son, be intoxicated with a foreign woman and embrace the bosom of an outsider ?
About this coordinate
Proverbs 5:20:1 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 1 of Proverbs 5:20, so the Hebrew word וְלָ֤מָּה (velama) 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.5.20.W1, which extends further down to each syllable (Prov.5.20.W1.S1) and character.