Proverbs 9:17:3Prov.9.17.W3TAB
וְלֶ֖חֶם
velekhem
“and bread”
- Transliteration
- ve-LE-khem
- Extended
- veh-LEH-khehm
- IPA
- /vəlɛˈħɛm/
Meaning by language
- English
- and bread
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 | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Chet | ch — deep guttural, as in Scottish loch | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Mem Sofit | final form of Mem — at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
ve-LE-khem
- clause
ve-LE-khem se-ta-RIM yin-AM
- sentence
MA-yim-ge-NU-vim yim-ta-KU ve-LE-khem se-ta-RIM yin-AM
Exegesis
The second clause mirrors this structure as the construct phrase lechem setarim {לֶחֶם סְתָרִים | leḥem səṭārîm} ‘bread of secret places’ functions as subject with yinna’am {יִנְעָֽם | yinnaʿăm} ‘is pleasant’ as predicate. This parallelism underscores the theme that hidden acquisitions yield fleeting pleasure.
Root and etymology
l-ḥ-mlamed–ḥet–mem
“bread, food”
In context — Proverbs 9:17
Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
About this coordinate
Proverbs 9:17:3 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 3 of Proverbs 9:17, so the Hebrew word וְלֶ֖חֶם (velekhem) 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.9.17.W3, which extends further down to each syllable (Prov.9.17.W3.S1) and character.