וּמֶ֣לֶךְ אֲרָ֡ם צִוָּ֣ה אֶת־שָׂרֵי֩ הָרֶ֨כֶב אֲשֶׁר־לֹ֜ו שְׁלֹשִׁ֤ים וּשְׁנַ֨יִם֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹ֚א תִּלָּ֣חֲמ֔וּ אֶת־קָטֹ֖ן וְאֶת־גָּדֹ֑ול כִּ֛י אִֽם־אֶת־מֶ֥לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְבַדֹּֽו׃
And the king of Aram commanded the commanders of the chariots that were with him, thirty-two in number, saying, “Do not fight with small or great, but only with the king of Yisraʾel.”
Morphology
- וּמֶלֶךְ (u-melekh) – Root: מלך (melekh); Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular; Translation: “And the king”; Notes: Introduces the subject of the new military directive.
- אֲרָם (Aram) – Root: ארם (Aram); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Aram”; Notes: The king of Aram, likely Ben-Hadad.
- צִוָּה (tsiwwah) – Root: צוה (tsavah); Form: Piel perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “commanded”; Notes: Military order issued.
- אֶת־שָׂרֵי הָרֶכֶב (et-sarei ha-rekhev) – Root: שר (sar), רכב (rekhev); Form: Accusative marker + construct plural + definite noun; Translation: “the commanders of the chariotry”; Notes: Military officers in charge of elite units.
- אֲשֶׁר־לֹו (asher-lo) – Root: אשׁר (ʾasher), ל (le); Form: Relative pronoun + preposition + 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “who were with him”; Notes: Identifies the chariot commanders under his authority.
- שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁנַיִם (sheloshim u-shenayim) – Root: שלשׁ (shalosh), שׁנים (shenayim); Form: Cardinal numbers; Translation: “thirty-two”; Notes: Total number of chariot commanders.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾmor) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces the content of the command.
- לֹא תִּלָּחֲמוּ (lo tillaḥamu) – Root: לחם (laḥam); Form: Negative particle + Nifal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “Do not fight”; Notes: Prohibition directed to the commanders.
- אֶת־קָטֹן וְאֶת־גָּדֹול (et-qaton ve-et-gadol) – Root: קטן (qatan), גדל (gadol); Form: Accusative marker + adjective masculine singular; Translation: “with small or great”; Notes: Expresses indiscriminate non-engagement with common soldiers or generals alike.
- כִּי אִם־אֶת־מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל (ki im et-melekh Yisraʾel) – Root: כי (ki), אם (ʾim), מלך (melekh), ישראל (Yisraʾel); Form: Conjunction + conditional + accusative phrase + construct; Translation: “but only the king of Yisraʾel”; Notes: Specific target: King Aḥav.
- לְבַדּוֹ (levaddo) – Root: בדד (badad); Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “alone”; Notes: Emphasizes exclusivity of the target.