וּכְאַבְשָׁלֹ֗ום לֹא־הָיָ֧ה אִישׁ־יָפֶ֛ה בְּכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְהַלֵּ֣ל מְאֹ֑ד מִכַּ֤ף רַגְלֹו֙ וְעַ֣ד קָדְקֳדֹ֔ו לֹא־הָ֥יָה בֹ֖ו מֽוּם׃
And like Avshalom, there was no man as handsome in all Yisraʾel to be praised exceedingly; from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
Morphology
- וּכְאַבְשָׁלֹ֗ום (u-ke-Avshalom) – Root: אבשלום; Form: Conjunction + preposition + proper noun; Translation: “And like Avshalom”; Notes: Begins a comparative statement.
- לֹא־הָיָ֧ה (lo-hayah) – Root: היה; Form: Negative particle + Qal perfect 3rd masculine singular; Translation: “there was not”; Notes: Negation of existence.
- אִישׁ־יָפֶ֛ה (ish-yafeh) – Roots: איש, יפה; Form: Noun masculine singular + adjective masculine singular; Translation: “a handsome man”; Notes: Describes unmatched beauty.
- בְּכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל (be-khol-Yisraʾel) – Root: ישראל; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular construct + proper noun; Translation: “in all Yisraʾel”; Notes: Scope of the comparison.
- לְהַלֵּ֣ל (le-hallel) – Root: הלל; Form: Piel infinitive construct; Translation: “to be praised”; Notes: Indicates the reason for his beauty being notable.
- מְאֹ֑ד (meʾod) – Root: מאד; Form: Adverb; Translation: “exceedingly”; Notes: Intensifies the verb.
- מִכַּ֤ף (mi-kaf) – Root: כף; Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular; Translation: “from the sole”; Notes: Start of physical description.
- רַגְלֹו֙ (raglo) – Root: רגל; Form: Noun feminine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “of his foot”; Notes: Possessive construction.
- וְעַ֣ד (ve-ʿad) – Root: עד; Form: Conjunction + preposition; Translation: “even to”; Notes: Continuation of physical range.
- קָדְקֳדֹ֔ו (qodqodo) – Root: קדקד; Form: Noun masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “his crown (of head)”; Notes: Top of the body.
- לֹא־הָ֥יָה (lo-hayah) – Same as above; Translation: “there was not”.
- בֹ֖ו (vo) – Root: בוא (used here as preposition “in him”); Form: Preposition + 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “in him”; Notes: Locative expression.
- מֽוּם (mum) – Root: מום; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “blemish”; Notes: Often used in contexts of physical or ritual perfection.