וַיִּקַּ֕ח כַּחֲמֵ֥שֶׁת אֲלָפִ֖ים אִ֑ישׁ וַיָּ֨שֶׂם אֹותָ֜ם אֹרֵ֗ב בֵּ֧ין בֵּֽית־אֵ֛ל וּבֵ֥ין הָעַ֖י מִיָּ֥ם לָעִֽיר׃
And he took about five thousand men and set them as an ambush between Beit-ʾEl and ʿAi, to the west of the city.
Morphology
- וַיִּקַּ֕ח (vayyiqqaḥ) – Root: לקח (laqaḥ); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he took”; Notes: Refers to Yehoshua’s action.
- כַּחֲמֵ֥שֶׁת (ka-ḥameshet) – Root: חמש (ḥamesh); Form: Cardinal number, masculine plural construct; Translation: “about five”; Notes: Indicates approximate quantity.
- אֲלָפִ֖ים (alafim) – Root: אלף (ʾelef); Form: Noun, masculine plural; Translation: “thousands”; Notes: Describes the number of men.
- אִ֑ישׁ (ʾish) – Root: איש (ʾish); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “men”; Notes: Collective noun referring to the soldiers.
- וַיָּ֨שֶׂם (vayyasem) – Root: שם (sam); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he set”; Notes: Describes placing the men in ambush.
- אֹותָ֜ם (otam) – Root: את (ʾet); Form: Direct object marker with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to the five thousand men.
- אֹרֵ֗ב (ʾorev) – Root: ארב (ʾarab); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “as an ambush”; Notes: Describes the military strategy.
- בֵּ֧ין (bein) – Root: בין (bein); Form: Preposition; Translation: “between”; Notes: Indicates location.
- בֵּֽית־אֵ֛ל (Beit-ʾEl) – Root: בית (bayit) + אל (ʾel); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Beit-ʾEl”; Notes: A city near Haʿay.
- וּבֵ֥ין (u-vein) – Root: בין (bein); Form: Preposition with conjunction; Translation: “and between”; Notes: Connects the two locations.
- הָעַ֖י (ha-ʿay) – Root: עי (ʿay); Form: Proper noun, feminine singular with definite article; Translation: “Haʿay”; Notes: The target city.
- מִיָּ֥ם (miyyam) – Root: ים (yam); Form: Noun, masculine singular with preposition; Translation: “from the west”; Notes: Specifies direction.
- לָעִֽיר׃ (laʿir) – Root: עיר (ʿir); Form: Noun, feminine singular with preposition; Translation: “to the city”; Notes: Refers to Haʿay as the target of the ambush.