כִּי־יִמָּצֵ֣א חָלָ֗ל בָּאֲדָמָה֙ אֲשֶׁר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ נֹתֵ֤ן לְךָ֙ לְרִשְׁתָּ֔הּ נֹפֵ֖ל בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה לֹ֥א נֹודַ֖ע מִ֥י הִכָּֽהוּ׃
If a slain person is found in the land which YHWH your God is giving you to possess, fallen in the field, and it is not known who struck him.
Morphology
- כִּי־יִמָּצֵ֣א (ki-yimmatse) – Root: מצא (matsa); Form: Nifal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “If it is found”; Notes: Introduces a conditional clause.
- חָלָ֗ל (ḥalal) – Root: חלל (ḥalal); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “slain person”; Notes: Refers to a person who has been killed.
- בָּאֲדָמָה֙ (ba-adamah) – Root: אדמה (adamah); Form: Noun, feminine singular with definite article; Translation: “in the land”; Notes: Refers to the territory of Israel.
- אֲשֶׁר֩ (asher) – Root: -; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “which”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause.
- יְהוָ֨ה (YHWH) – Root: -; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “the LORD”; Notes: The divine name.
- אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ (Elohekha) – Root: אלה (eloah); Form: Noun, masculine plural with 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “your God”; Notes: Refers to the God of Israel.
- נֹתֵ֤ן (noten) – Root: נתן (natan); Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “giving”; Notes: Indicates an ongoing action.
- לְךָ֙ (lekha) – Root: -; Form: Preposition with 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Directs the action towards the recipient.
- לְרִשְׁתָּ֔הּ (le-rishtah) – Root: ירש (yarash); Form: Qal infinitive construct with 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “to possess it”; Notes: Refers to inheriting the land.
- נֹפֵ֖ל (nofel) – Root: נפל (nafal); Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “fallen”; Notes: Describes the state of the slain person.
- בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה (ba-sadeh) – Root: שדה (sadeh); Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “in the field”; Notes: Indicates the location.
- לֹ֥א (lo) – Root: -; Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the following verb.
- נֹודַ֖ע (noda) – Root: ידע (yada); Form: Nifal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “it is known”; Notes: Indicates a state of knowledge.
- מִ֥י (mi) – Root: -; Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces the unknown subject.
- הִכָּֽהוּ (hikahu) – Root: נכה (nakah); Form: Hifil perfect 3rd person masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “struck him”; Notes: Indicates the unknown action of the killing.