וַיִּשְׁחַט֩ מֶ֨לֶךְ בָּבֶ֜ל אֶת־בְּנֵ֧י צִדְקִיָּ֛הוּ בְּרִבְלָ֖ה לְעֵינָ֑יו וְאֵת֙ כָּל־חֹרֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֔ה שָׁחַ֖ט מֶ֥לֶךְ בָּבֶֽל׃
And the king of Bavel slaughtered the sons of Tsidqiyyahu at Rivla before his eyes, and all the nobles of Yehuda the king of Bavel slaughtered.
Morphology
- וַיִּשְׁחַט (va-yishḥat) – Root: שׁחט (shaḥat); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he slaughtered”; Notes: Violent execution, typical of wartime atrocities.
- מֶלֶךְ (melekh) – Root: מלך (melekh); Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “king of”; Notes: Introduces the subject of the action.
- בָּבֶל (Bavel) – Root: בבל (Bavel); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Bavel”; Notes: Refers to Babylon, the empire waging war against Yehudah.
- אֶת־בְּנֵי (et-benei) – Root: בן (ben); Form: Direct object marker + noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “the sons of”; Notes: Specifies the direct object.
- צִדְקִיָּהוּ (Tsidqiyahu) – Root: צדק (tsedeq); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Tsidqiyahu”; Notes: The king of Yehudah, father of the slain sons.
- בְּרִבְלָה (be-Rivlah) – Root: רִבְלָה (Rivlah); Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “at Rivlah”; Notes: City in Ḥamat where the Babylonian king held court.
- לְעֵינָיו (le-ʿeinav) – Root: עין (ʿayin); Form: Preposition + noun feminine plural with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “before his eyes”; Notes: Emphasizes Tsidqiyahu was forced to witness the execution.
- וְאֵת (ve-et) – Root: את (ʾet); Form: Conjunction + direct object marker; Translation: “and”; Notes: Introduces a second object of slaughter.
- כָּל־חֹרֵי (kol-ḥorei) – Root: חור (ḥor); Form: Noun masculine plural construct with modifier; Translation: “all the nobles of”; Notes: Refers to aristocrats or princes of Yehudah.
- יְהוּדָה (Yehudah) – Root: יהודה (Yehudah); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yehudah”; Notes: The southern kingdom, with Yerushalayim as its capital.
- שָׁחַט (shaḥat) – Root: שׁחט (shaḥat); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “he slaughtered”; Notes: Repetition for emphasis, showing the brutality of the act.
- מֶלֶךְ (melekh) – Root: מלך (melekh); Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “king of”; Notes: Resumes subject identification.
- בָּבֶל (Bavel) – Root: בבל (Bavel); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Bavel”; Notes: Once again emphasizes Babylonian responsibility.