וַתְּהִ֧י הַמִּלְחָמָ֛ה קָשָׁ֥ה עַד־מְאֹ֖ד בַּיֹּ֣ום הַה֑וּא וַיִּנָּ֤גֶף אַבְנֵר֙ וְאַנְשֵׁ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לִפְנֵ֖י עַבְדֵ֥י דָוִֽד׃
And the battle was very fierce on that day, and ʾAvner and the men of Yisraʾel were struck down before the servants of Dawid.
Morphology
- וַתְּהִ֧י (vattehi) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “And it was”; Notes: Feminine subject refers to “battle” (*milḥamah*).
- הַמִּלְחָמָ֛ה (ha-milḥamah) – Root: לחם (laḥam); Form: Noun, feminine singular definite; Translation: “the battle”; Notes: Main subject of the sentence.
- קָשָׁ֥ה (qashah) – Root: קשה (qashah); Form: Adjective, feminine singular; Translation: “fierce / hard”; Notes: Matches the gender of milḥamah.
- עַד־מְאֹ֖ד (ʿad-meʾod) – Root: עד (ʿad) + מאד (meʾod); Form: Preposition + adverb; Translation: “exceedingly / very”; Notes: Intensifies the adjective.
- בַּיֹּ֣ום (ba-yom) – Root: יום (yom); Form: Noun, masculine singular definite with preposition; Translation: “on the day”; Notes: Temporal reference.
- הַה֑וּא (ha-hu) – Root: הוא (hu); Form: Demonstrative pronoun, masculine singular; Translation: “that”; Notes: Specifies which day.
- וַיִּנָּ֤גֶף (vayyinnagef) – Root: נגף (nagaf); Form: Nifal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and was struck down / defeated”; Notes: Passive voice; indicates suffering loss.
- אַבְנֵר֙ (ʾAvner) – Root: אבנר (ʾAvner); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “ʾAvner”; Notes: Subject of the passive verb.
- וְאַנְשֵׁ֣י (ve-ʾanshei) – Root: אנש (ʾenosh); Form: Noun, masculine plural construct; Translation: “and the men of”; Notes: Construct with next noun.
- יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל (Yisraʾel) – Root: ישראל (Yisraʾel); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yisraʾel”; Notes: Refers to the northern Israelite faction.
- לִפְנֵ֖י (lifnei) – Root: פנה (paneh); Form: Preposition with construct noun; Translation: “before”; Notes: Spatial relation indicating being in front of.
- עַבְדֵ֥י (ʿavdei) – Root: עבד (ʿeved); Form: Noun, masculine plural construct; Translation: “servants of”; Notes: Indicates military followers or loyal subjects.
- דָוִֽד׃ (Dawid) – Root: דוד (Dawid); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Dawid”; Notes: King of Yehudah, victor in this battle.