וְיָצְא֥וּ זְקֵנֶ֖יךָ וְשֹׁפְטֶ֑יךָ וּמָדְדוּ֙ אֶל־הֶ֣עָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר סְבִיבֹ֥ת הֶחָלָֽל׃
Then your elders and judges shall go out and measure to the cities that are around the slain one.
Morphology
- וְיָצְא֥וּ (ve-yatse’u) – Root: יצא (yatsa); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person plural; Translation: “Then they shall go out”; Notes: Refers to the elders and judges leaving their place to investigate.
- זְקֵנֶ֖יךָ (zeqenekha) – Root: זקן (zaqen); Form: Noun, masculine plural with 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “your elders”; Notes: Refers to the senior leaders of the community.
- וְשֹׁפְטֶ֑יךָ (ve-shofteikha) – Root: שפט (shafat); Form: Noun, masculine plural with 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “and your judges”; Notes: Refers to those responsible for legal decisions.
- וּמָדְדוּ֙ (u-madedu) – Root: מדד (madad); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person plural; Translation: “and they shall measure”; Notes: Describes the process of determining the nearest city.
- אֶל־הֶ֣עָרִ֔ים (el-he’arim) – Root: עיר (ir); Form: Noun, feminine plural with definite article; Translation: “to the cities”; Notes: Indicates multiple cities being considered.
- אֲשֶׁ֖ר (asher) – Root: -; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “that”; Notes: Introduces the descriptive clause.
- סְבִיבֹ֥ת (sevivot) – Root: סביב (saviv); Form: Noun, feminine plural construct; Translation: “around”; Notes: Describes the location surrounding the slain person.
- הֶחָלָֽל (he-ḥalal) – Root: חלל (ḥalal); Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the slain one”; Notes: Refers to the unidentified victim.