וַיִּֽרְאוּ֙ הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים כִּ֣י אָמְר֔וּ בָּ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה וַיֹּאמְרוּ֙ אֹ֣וי לָ֔נוּ כִּ֣י לֹ֥א הָיְתָ֛ה כָּזֹ֖את אֶתְמֹ֥ול שִׁלְשֹֽׁם׃
And the Pelishtim saw, for they said, “A god has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before, neither yesterday nor the day before.
Morphology
- וַיִּֽרְאוּ֙ (va-yirʾu) – Root: ראה (raʾah); Form: Qal consecutive imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “And they saw”; Notes: Refers to the Pelishtim perceiving the event.
- הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים (ha-Pelishtim) – Root: פלשתי (Pelishti); Form: Proper noun, plural with definite article; Translation: “the Pelishtim”; Notes: Subject of the verb.
- כִּ֣י (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for”; Notes: Introduces a reason.
- אָמְר֔וּ (amru) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they said”; Notes: Reports speech.
- בָּ֥א (ba) – Root: בוא (bo); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “has come”; Notes: Completed action.
- אֱלֹהִ֖ים (ʾElohim) – Root: אלהים (ʾElohim); Form: Noun, masculine plural; Translation: “a god”; Notes: In the perception of the Pelishtim, a divine being.
- אֶל־הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה (el-ha-maḥaneh) – Root: מחנה (maḥaneh); Form: Noun, masculine singular with preposition; Translation: “into the camp”; Notes: Indicates location.
- וַיֹּאמְרוּ֙ (va-yomeru) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal consecutive imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “And they said”; Notes: Introduces speech.
- אֹ֣וי (oy) – Root: אוי (ʾoy); Form: Interjection; Translation: “Woe”; Notes: Expresses distress.
- לָ֔נוּ (lanu) – Root: לנו (lanu); Form: Preposition with 1st person plural pronoun; Translation: “to us”; Notes: Indicates concern for themselves.
- כִּ֣י (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for”; Notes: Introduces an explanation.
- לֹ֥א (lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the following verb.
- הָיְתָ֛ה (hayetah) – Root: היה (haya); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “has been”; Notes: Past action.
- כָּזֹ֖את (kazot) – Root: זה (zeh); Form: Demonstrative pronoun, feminine singular; Translation: “such a thing”; Notes: Refers to the event.
- אֶתְמֹ֥ול (etmol) – Root: אתמול (etmol); Form: Adverb; Translation: “yesterday”; Notes: Indicates past time.
- שִׁלְשֹֽׁם (shilshom) – Root: שלשום (shilshom); Form: Adverb; Translation: “the day before”; Notes: Further emphasizes the unprecedented nature.