Psalm 18:9:3Ps.18.9.W3TABWLC Psalms 18:10
וְעָרָפֶל
vearafel
“and thick cloud”
- Transliteration
- ve-a-ra-FEL
- Extended
- veh-aa-ra-FEL
- IPA
- /vəʕaːraˈfɛl/
Meaning by language
- English
- and thick cloud
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 | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Pe | p with dagesh; f without | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Lamed | l as in law |
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The word
Word in context
- word
ve-a-ra-FEL
- sentence
va-YET-sha-MA-yim va-ye-RAD ve-a-ra-FEL TA-khat rag-LAV
Exegesis
The prefixed noun vaarafel {וַעֲרָפֶל | wa-ʿărā-pel} ‘thick darkness’ sets the atmospheric scene, and the prepositional phrase tachat raglav {תַּחַת רַגְלָיו | ta-ḥaṯ rag-lāw} ‘under His feet’ locates the divine above the obscurity. Hebrew fronted verbs create dramatic emphasis, mirrored in English by maintaining verb prominence. The cumulative coordination without a conjunction before the final phrase conveys an unbroken vision of the theophany.
Root and etymology
ʿ-r-p-lʿ–r–p–l
“cloud, deep darkness”
In context — Psalm 18:9
And He bent the heavens and descended, and thick darkness was under His feet.
About this coordinate
Psalm 18:9:3 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 3 of Psalm 18:9, so the Hebrew word וְעָרָפֶל (vearafel) 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.18.9.W3, which extends further down to each syllable (Ps.18.9.W3.S1) and character.