וַיְהִ֡י כִּרְאֹות֩ שָׂרֵ֨י הָרֶ֜כֶב אֶת־יְהֹושָׁפָ֗ט וְהֵ֤מָּה אָֽמְרוּ֙ אַ֣ךְ מֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל ה֔וּא וַיָּסֻ֥רוּ עָלָ֖יו לְהִלָּחֵ֑ם וַיִּזְעַ֖ק יְהֹושָׁפָֽט׃
And it happened, when the commanders of the chariots saw Yehoshafat, they said, “Surely it is the king of Yisraʾel!” And they turned aside toward him to fight, and Yehoshafat cried out.
Morphology
- וַיְהִי (va-yehi) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And it happened”; Notes: Introduces a narrative development.
- כִּרְאֹות (kirʾot) – Root: ראה (raʾah); Form: Qal infinitive construct with preposition כ־; Translation: “when [they] saw”; Notes: Temporal clause marker.
- שָׂרֵי הָרֶכֶב (sarei ha-rekhev) – Root: שר (sar), רכב (rekhev); Form: Construct plural + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the commanders of the chariots”; Notes: Aramean military elite.
- אֶת־יְהֹושָׁפָט (et-Yehoshafat) – Root: יהושפט (Yehoshafat); Form: Accusative marker + proper noun; Translation: “Yehoshafat”; Notes: Mistakenly identified as Aḥav.
- וְהֵמָּה (ve-hemmah) – Root: הם (hem); Form: Conjunction + independent pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “they”; Notes: Refers to the chariot commanders.
- אָמְרוּ (amru) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they said”; Notes: Assumption based on appearance.
- אַךְ (ʾakh) – Root: אך (ʾakh); Form: Adverb; Translation: “surely”; Notes: Emphatic assertion.
- מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל (melekh-Yisraʾel) – Root: מלך (melekh), ישראל (Yisraʾel); Form: Construct noun + proper noun; Translation: “king of Yisraʾel”; Notes: Mistaken identity due to Yehoshafat’s attire.
- הוּא (hu) – Root: הוא (hu); Form: Independent pronoun masculine singular; Translation: “he”; Notes: Subject pronoun for emphasis.
- וַיָּסֻרוּ (va-yasuru) – Root: סור (sur); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “and they turned aside”; Notes: Tactical redirection toward Yehoshafat.
- עָלָיו (ʿalav) – Root: על (ʿal); Form: Preposition + 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “toward him”; Notes: Object of their aggression.
- לְהִלָּחֵם (le-hillaḥem) – Root: לחם (laḥam); Form: Nifal infinitive construct; Translation: “to fight”; Notes: Passive-reflexive form of warfare.
- וַיִּזְעַק (va-yizʿaq) – Root: זעק (zaʿaq); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he cried out”; Notes: Yehoshafat’s cry likely led to his recognition and spared him.
- יְהֹושָׁפָט (Yehoshafat) – Root: יהושפט (Yehoshafat); Form: Proper noun masculine singular; Translation: “Yehoshafat”; Notes: Named again for narrative clarity.