וּדְמ֣וּת פְּנֵיהֶם֮ פְּנֵ֣י אָדָם֒ וּפְנֵ֨י אַרְיֵ֤ה אֶל־הַיָּמִין֙ לְאַרְבַּעְתָּ֔ם וּפְנֵי־שֹׁ֥ור מֵֽהַשְּׂמֹ֖אול לְאַרְבַּעְתָּ֑ן וּפְנֵי־נֶ֖שֶׁר לְאַרְבַּעְתָּֽן׃
And the likeness of their faces: the face of a man, and the face of a lion to the right to the four of them, and the face of an ox from the left to the four of them, and the face of an eagle to the four of them.
Morphology
- וּדְמוּת (u-demut) – Root: דמה; Form: Conjunction + noun feminine singular; Translation: “and the likeness”; Notes: Introduces visionary description, emphasizing resemblance rather than exact replication.
- פְּנֵיהֶם (peneihem) – Root: פנה; Form: Noun masculine plural construct + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “their faces”; Notes: Refers to the four creatures collectively.
- פְּנֵי (penei) – Root: פנה; Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “the face of”; Notes: Construct form introducing appositional identity.
- אָדָם (ʾadam) – Root: אדם; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “man / human”; Notes: First face described; indicates human likeness.
- וּפְנֵי (u-penei) – Root: פנה; Form: Conjunction + noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “and the face of”; Notes: Continuation of the list of faces.
- אַרְיֵה (ʾaryeh) – Root: ארי; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “lion”; Notes: Second face described; associated with strength and majesty.
- אֶל־הַיָּמִין (el-ha-yamin) – Root: ימן; Form: Preposition + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “to the right”; Notes: Specifies orientation in the vision.
- לְאַרְבַּעְתָּם (le-arbaʿtam) – Root: ארבע; Form: Preposition לְ + cardinal numeral construct with 3rd person plural suffix; Translation: “to the four of them”; Notes: Indicates that all four creatures shared this feature.
- וּפְנֵי־שׁוֹר (u-penei-shor) – Root: שור; Form: Conjunction + construct noun “face of” + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and the face of an ox”; Notes: Third type of face, symbolic of strength and labor.
- מֵהַשְּׂמֹאל (me-ha-semol) – Root: שׂמאל; Form: Preposition מִן + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “from the left”; Notes: Describes orientation opposite of the lion.
- לְאַרְבַּעְתָּם (le-arbaʿtam) – Root: ארבע; Form: Preposition לְ + cardinal numeral construct with 3rd person plural suffix; Translation: “to the four of them”; Notes: Repetition underscores identical structure among all four beings.
- וּפְנֵי־נֶשֶׁר (u-penei-nesher) – Root: נשר; Form: Conjunction + construct noun “face of” + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and the face of an eagle”; Notes: Fourth type of face, associated with swiftness and vision.
- לְאַרְבַּעְתָּם (le-arbaʿtam) – Root: ארבע; Form: Preposition לְ + cardinal numeral construct with 3rd person plural suffix; Translation: “to the four of them”; Notes: Closing repetition reaffirms that each of the four beings bore the same fourfold faces.