וּמִ֨תֹּוכָ֔הּ דְּמ֖וּת אַרְבַּ֣ע חַיֹּ֑ות וְזֶה֙ מַרְאֵֽיהֶ֔ן דְּמ֥וּת אָדָ֖ם לָהֵֽנָּה׃
And from the midst of it was the likeness of four living creatures, and this was their appearance: the likeness of a man was to them.
Morphology
- וּמִתֹּוכָהּ (u-mitokhah) – Root: תוך; Form: Conjunction + preposition מִן + noun masculine singular construct + 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “and from the midst of it”; Notes: Indicates origin or source of what follows, referring back to the fiery vision.
- דְּמוּת (demut) – Root: דמה; Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “likeness / form”; Notes: Used in visionary descriptions to indicate resemblance rather than exactness.
- אַרְבַּע (ʾarbaʿ) – Root: ארבע; Form: Cardinal numeral feminine singular; Translation: “four”; Notes: Governs the following plural noun; feminine form agrees with חַיֹּות.
- חַיֹּות (ḥayyot) – Root: חיה; Form: Noun feminine plural absolute; Translation: “living creatures”; Notes: Plural of חַיָּה; designates animated beings in Ezekiel’s visions, later associated with cherubim.
- וְזֶה (ve-zeh) – Root: זה; Form: Conjunction + demonstrative pronoun masculine singular; Translation: “and this”; Notes: Introduces the explanation of their appearance.
- מַרְאֵיהֶן (marʾeihen) – Root: ראה; Form: Noun masculine singular construct + 3rd person feminine plural suffix; Translation: “their appearance”; Notes: Refers collectively to the look or outward form of the living creatures.
- דְּמוּת (demut) – Root: דמה; Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “likeness”; Notes: Repetition emphasizes resemblance rather than identity.
- אָדָם (ʾadam) – Root: אדם; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “man / human”; Notes: Indicates anthropomorphic qualities of the creatures, grounding the vision in human-like form.
- לָהֵנָּה (la-henna) – Root: הן; Form: Preposition לְ + third person feminine plural pronominal suffix; Translation: “to them”; Notes: Feminine plural suffix matches חַיֹּות, clarifying possession of the human likeness.