חֹומָה֙ הָי֣וּ עָלֵ֔ינוּ גַּם־לַ֖יְלָה גַּם־יֹומָ֑ם כָּל־יְמֵ֛י הֱיֹותֵ֥נוּ עִמָּ֖ם רֹעִ֥ים הַצֹּֽאן׃
A wall they were to us, both by night and by day, all the days we were with them tending the flock.
Morphology
- חֹומָה֙ (ḥomah) – Root: חומה (ḥomah); Form: Noun, feminine singular; Translation: “A wall”; Notes: Metaphor for protection.
- הָי֣וּ (hayu) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person plural; Translation: “they were”; Notes: Indicates continuous action.
- עָלֵ֔ינוּ (ʿaleinu) – Root: על (ʿal); Form: Preposition with 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “upon us”; Notes: Denotes protection over them.
- גַּם־לַ֖יְלָה (gam-laylah) – Root: לילה (laylah); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “both by night”; Notes: Indicates time frame.
- גַּם־יֹומָ֑ם (gam-yomam) – Root: יום (yom); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “and by day”; Notes: Completes the temporal description.
- כָּל־יְמֵ֛י (kol-yemei) – Root: יום (yom); Form: Noun, masculine plural construct; Translation: “all the days of”; Notes: Indicates duration.
- הֱיֹותֵ֥נוּ (heyotenu) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal infinitive construct with 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “we were”; Notes: Refers to their time together.
- עִמָּ֖ם (ʿimmam) – Root: עם (ʿim); Form: Preposition with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “with them”; Notes: Shows association with Dawid’s men.
- רֹעִ֥ים (roʿim) – Root: רעה (raʿah); Form: Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “tending”; Notes: Describes their occupation.
- הַצֹּֽאן (ha-tson) – Root: צאן (tson); Form: Noun, feminine singular (collective), definite; Translation: “the flock”; Notes: Specifies what they were tending.