הַמֵּ֤ת לְאַחְאָב֙ בָּעִ֔יר יֹאכְל֖וּ הַכְּלָבִ֑ים וְהַמֵּת֙ בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה יֹאכְל֖וּ עֹ֥וף הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
He who dies belonging to Aḥav in the city, the dogs shall eat; and he who dies in the field, the birds of the heavens shall eat.”
Morphology
- הַמֵּת (ha-met) – Root: מות (mut); Form: Definite article + Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “he who dies”; Notes: General statement about any member of Aḥav’s house who dies.
- לְאַחְאָב (le-Aḥav) – Root: אחאב (Aḥav); Form: Preposition לְ + proper noun masculine singular; Translation: “belonging to Aḥav”; Notes: Refers to Aḥav’s household or supporters.
- בָּעִיר (ba-ʿir) – Root: עיר (ʿir); Form: Preposition בְּ + definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “in the city”; Notes: Specifies the location of death.
- יֹאכְלוּ (yoʾkhelu) – Root: אכל (ʾakal); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “shall eat”; Notes: Future action indicating the fate of the corpses.
- הַכְּלָבִים (ha-kelavim) – Root: כלב (kelev); Form: Definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “the dogs”; Notes: Scavengers that consume the dead in cities.
- וְהַמֵּת (ve-ha-met) – Root: מות (mut); Form: Conjunction וְ + definite article + Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “and he who dies”; Notes: Parallel structure to the first clause, but different location.
- בַּשָּׂדֶה (ba-sadeh) – Root: שדה (sadeh); Form: Preposition בְּ + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “in the field”; Notes: Open area, away from the city’s protection.
- יֹאכְלוּ (yoʾkhelu) – Root: אכל (ʾakal); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “shall eat”; Notes: Repeated verb for parallelism.
- עֹוף (ʿof) – Root: עוף (ʿof); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “bird”; Notes: General term for birds, especially scavengers like vultures.
- הַשָּׁמָיִם (ha-shamayim) – Root: שמים (shamayim); Form: Definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “of the heavens”; Notes: Refers to the skies where birds come from, emphasizing their divine agency in the judgment.