וְאִ֛ישׁ אֶל־עֵ֥בֶר פָּנָ֖יו יֵלֵ֑כוּ אֶ֣ל אֲשֶׁר֩ יִֽהְיֶה־שָׁ֨מָּה הָר֤וּחַ לָלֶ֨כֶת֙ יֵלֵ֔כוּ לֹ֥א יִסַּ֖בּוּ בְּלֶכְתָּֽן׃
And each one went toward the side of his face; wherever the spirit was to go, they went; they did not turn in their going.
Morphology
- וְאִישׁ (ve-ish) – Root: אישׁ; Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and each one / man”; Notes: Used distributively for each living creature.
- אֶל־ (el) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition; Translation: “toward”; Notes: Marks direction of movement.
- עֵבֶר (ʿever) – Root: עבר; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “side / region”; Notes: Locative term; indicates orientation.
- פָּנָיו (panav) – Root: פנה; Form: Noun masculine plural form with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “his face”; Notes: Hebrew “faces” used for singular “face.”
- יֵלֵכוּ (yeleku) – Root: הלך; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they went”; Notes: Describes consistent movement forward.
- אֶל (el) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition; Translation: “toward”; Notes: Introduces destination clause.
- אֲשֶׁר (asher) – Root: particle; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “where / that”; Notes: Introduces subordinate clause “wherever.”
- יִהְיֶה (yihyeh) – Root: היה; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “was / would be”; Notes: Refers to the spirit’s intended movement.
- שָׁמָּה (shammah) – Root: שם; Form: Adverb of place; Translation: “there”; Notes: Demonstrates fixed direction.
- הָרוּחַ (ha-ruaḥ) – Root: רוח; Form: Noun feminine singular with article; Translation: “the spirit / wind”; Notes: Can denote divine spirit guiding their motion.
- לָלֶכֶת (la-lekhet) – Root: הלך; Form: Preposition לְ + Qal infinitive construct; Translation: “to go”; Notes: Expresses the purpose or intended direction of the spirit.
- יֵלֵכוּ (yeleku) – Root: הלך; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they went”; Notes: Repetition emphasizes complete alignment with the spirit’s leading.
- לֹא (lo) – Root: לא; Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the following action.
- יִסַּבּוּ (yissabu) – Root: סבב; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they turned”; Notes: In negation: “they did not turn.”
- בְּלֶכְתָּן (be-lekhtan) – Root: הלך; Form: Preposition בְּ + infinitive construct + 3rd person feminine plural suffix; Translation: “in their going”; Notes: Feminine suffix matches חַיּוֹת (“living beings,” feminine plural), the subject of the description.