וַיִּהְי֣וּ עֹשִׂ֔ים גֹּ֥וי גֹּ֖וי אֱלֹהָ֑יו וַיַּנִּ֣יחוּ בְּבֵ֣ית הַבָּמֹ֗ות אֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשׂוּ֙ הַשֹּׁ֣מְרֹנִ֔ים גֹּ֥וי גֹּוי֙ בְּעָ֣רֵיהֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֛ר הֵ֥ם יֹשְׁבִ֖ים שָֽׁם׃
And they were making for themselves, nation by nation, its god, and they placed them in the house of the high places which the Shomeronim had made, nation by nation in their cities where they were dwelling.
Morphology
- וַיִּהְיוּ (va-yihyu) – Root: היה (h-y-h); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “And they were”; Notes: Introduces the ongoing religious actions of the settlers.
- עֹשִׂים (ʿosim) – Root: עשׂה (ʿasah); Form: Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “making”; Notes: Continuous activity of idolatry.
- גֹּוי גֹּוי (goy goy) – Root: גוי (goy); Form: Noun masculine singular repeated; Translation: “nation by nation”; Notes: Distributive repetition emphasizing each ethnic group’s actions.
- אֱלֹהָיו (ʾelohav) – Root: אלוה (ʾeloah); Form: Noun masculine plural with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “its god”; Notes: Refers to the idol or deity chosen by each nation.
- וַיַּנִּיחוּ (va-yannikhu) – Root: נוח (nuach); Form: Hifil wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “and they placed”; Notes: Describes installation of idols in cult sites.
- בְּבֵית הַבָּמֹות (be-veit ha-bamot) – Root: בית (bayit) + במה (bamah); Form: Preposition + construct noun + definite plural noun; Translation: “in the house of the high places”; Notes: Refers to shrines or worship sites.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: אשר (ʾasher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “which”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause.
- עָשׂוּ (ʿasu) – Root: עשׂה (ʿasah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they had made”; Notes: Refers to the original inhabitants of Shomeron.
- הַשֹּׁמְרֹנִים (ha-Shomeronim) – Root: שׁמרון (Shomeron); Form: Definite masculine plural gentilic; Translation: “the Shomeronites”; Notes: Refers to native Israelite population before the exile.
- גֹּוי גֹּוי (goy goy) – Repeated phrase for emphasis; Translation: “nation by nation”; Notes: Reemphasizes the individual religious customs of each group.
- בְּעָרֵיהֶם (be-ʿareihem) – Root: עיר (ʿir); Form: Preposition + plural construct noun + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “in their cities”; Notes: Indicates local worship centers per city.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: אשר (ʾasher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “where” or “which”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause about their dwelling.
- הֵם (hem) – Root: הם (hem); Form: Pronoun 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they”; Notes: Subject of the dwelling clause.
- יֹשְׁבִים (yoshvim) – Root: ישׁב (yashav); Form: Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “dwelling”; Notes: Present participle describing their continuous residence.
- שָׁם (sham) – Root: שם (sham); Form: Adverb of place; Translation: “there”; Notes: Refers to their resettled locations in Shomeron.