וַיְצַו֩ יְהֹויָדָ֨ע הַכֹּהֵ֜ן אֶת־שָׂרֵ֥י הַמֵּאֹות פְּקֻדֵ֣י הַחַ֗יִל וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם֙ הֹוצִ֤יאוּ אֹתָהּ֙ אֶל־מִבֵּ֣ית לַשְּׂדֵרֹ֔ות וְהַבָּ֥א אַחֲרֶ֖יהָ הָמֵ֣ת בֶּחָ֑רֶב כִּ֚י אָמַ֣ר הַכֹּהֵ֔ן אַל־תּוּמַ֖ת בֵּ֥ית יְהוָֽה׃
And Yehoyadaʿ the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the army, and said to them, “Bring her out from inside the ranks, and whoever follows her shall be put to death by the sword,” for the priest said, “She shall not be killed in the house of YHWH.”
Morphology
- וַיְצַו (va-yetsav) – Root: צוה (ts-w-h); Form: Piel wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he commanded”; Notes: Yehoyadaʿ gives authoritative military instruction.
- יְהוֹיָדָע הַכֹּהֵן (Yehoyadaʿ ha-Kohen) – Form: Proper noun + definite noun; Translation: “Yehoyadaʿ the priest”; Notes: High priest leading the coup against ʿAtalyah.
- אֶת־שָׂרֵי הַמֵּאֹות (et-sarei ha-meʾot) – Root: שׂרר / מאה (s-r-r / m-ʾ-h); Form: Direct object marker + construct plural + definite plural noun; Translation: “the captains of the hundreds”; Notes: Military commanders under priestly leadership.
- פְּקֻדֵי הַחַיִל (pekudei ha-ḥayil) – Root: פקד (p-q-d); Form: Construct plural + definite noun; Translation: “the officers of the army”; Notes: High-ranking military officials.
- וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם (va-yomer aleihem) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular + prepositional phrase; Translation: “and he said to them”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
- הֹוצִיאוּ אֹתָהּ (hotziʾu otah) – Root: יצא (y-ts-ʾ); Form: Hifil imperative masculine plural + direct object pronoun; Translation: “Bring her out”; Notes: Refers to removing ʿAtalyah from the temple grounds.
- אֶל־מִבֵּית לַשְּׂדֵרוֹת (el-mibbeit la-sederot) – Root: בית / שׂדר (b-y-t / s-d-r); Form: Prepositions + construct noun phrase; Translation: “from inside to the ranks”; Notes: Likely an architectural or military corridor outside the temple.
- וְהַבָּא אַחֲרֶיהָ (ve-ha-ba aḥareha) – Root: בוא (b-w-ʾ); Form: Conjunction + participle + preposition + suffix; Translation: “and the one who follows her”; Notes: Anyone showing allegiance to her cause.
- הָמֵת בֶּחָרֶב (hamet be-ḥerev) – Root: מות (m-w-t); Form: Hophal participle masculine singular + prepositional phrase; Translation: “shall be put to death by the sword”; Notes: Immediate sentence upon her supporters.
- כִּי אָמַר הַכֹּהֵן (ki amar ha-kohen) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Conjunction + Qal perfect + definite noun; Translation: “for the priest had said”; Notes: Provides reason for location of execution.
- אַל־תּוּמַת בֵּית יְהוָה (al-tumat beit YHWH) – Root: מות (m-w-t); Form: Negative particle + Hophal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular + construct noun phrase; Translation: “she shall not be killed in the house of YHWH”; Notes: Prohibits desecration of the sacred space by spilling blood within it.