Psalm 18:5:3Ps.18.5.W3TABWLC Psalms 18:6
סְבָב֑וּנִי
sevavooni
“surrounded me”
- Transliteration
- se-va-VOO-ni
- Extended
- seh-va-VOO-nih
- IPA
- /svɔːˈvuːni/
Meaning by language
- English
- surrounded me
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Samekh | s as in sit | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Nun | n as in new | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī |
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The word
Word in context
- word
se-va-VOO-ni
- clause
khev-LEI she-OL se-va-VOO-ni
- sentence
khev-LEI she-OL se-va-VOO-ni kid-de-VOO-ni mok-SHEI MA-vet
Exegesis
The verse employs synonymous parallelism by pairing chevlei she'ol {חֶבְלֵי שְׁאוֹל | khev-lê shə-ʾōl} ‘cords of Sheol’ with sevavuni {סְבָבוּנִי | sə-ḇā-ḇū-nî} ‘surrounded me’, and moqshei mavet {מוֹקְשֵׁי מָוֶת | mōq-šê mā-weṯ} ‘snares of death’ with kidmuni {קִדְּמוּנִי | qiḏ-mū-nî} ‘confronted me’. The Piel perfect verbs linked to construct nouns create a compressed, staccato rhythm that heightens the threat. The absence of a conjunction between the two clauses intensifies the sense of imminent peril.
In context — Psalm 18:5
The cords of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me.
About this coordinate
Psalm 18:5:3 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 3 of Psalm 18:5, so the Hebrew word סְבָב֑וּנִי (sevavooni) 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 Ps.18.5.W3, which extends further down to each syllable (Ps.18.5.W3.S1) and character.