וָאֲבַקֵּ֣שׁ מֵהֶ֡ם אִ֣ישׁ גֹּֽדֵר־גָּדֵר֩ וְעֹמֵ֨ד בַּפֶּ֧רֶץ לְפָנַ֛י בְּעַ֥ד הָאָ֖רֶץ לְבִלְתִּ֣י שַׁחֲתָ֑הּ וְלֹ֖א מָצָֽאתִי׃
And I sought from among them a man building a wall and standing in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
Morphology
- וָאֲבַקֵּשׁ (va-ʾavaqqesh) – Root: בקשׁ (baqash); Form: Piel wayyiqtol (narrative past) 1st person common singular; Translation: “and I sought”; Notes: YHWH’s active search for a righteous intercessor.
- מֵהֶם (mehem) – Root: מן (min); Form: Preposition מִן + third person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “from them”; Notes: Refers to the people of the land.
- אִישׁ (ʾish) – Root: אישׁ (ʾish); Form: Noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “a man”; Notes: Stands for a single righteous person.
- גֹּדֵר־גָּדֵר (goder-gader) – Root: גדר (gadar); Form: Qal participle masculine singular + noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “building a wall”; Notes: Metaphor for repairing breaches in communal or spiritual defenses.
- וְעֹמֵד (ve-ʿomed) – Root: עמד (ʿamad); Form: Qal participle masculine singular with prefixed conjunction; Translation: “and standing”; Notes: Denotes one ready to intercede or defend.
- בַּפֶּרֶץ (ba-perets) – Root: פרץ (parats); Form: Preposition בְ + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “in the breach”; Notes: Military imagery, the gap in a wall where defense is most critical.
- לְפָנַי (le-fanay) – Root: פן (panim); Form: Preposition לְ + noun plural construct with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “before me”; Notes: Refers to standing in YHWH’s presence in intercession.
- בְּעַד (be-ʿad) – Root: עד (ʿad); Form: Preposition; Translation: “for/on behalf of”; Notes: Expresses advocacy or intercession.
- הָאָרֶץ (ha-ʾarets) – Root: ארץ (ʾerets); Form: Definite noun feminine singular absolute; Translation: “the land”; Notes: Refers to the land of Yisraʾel.
- לְבִלְתִּי (le-vilti) – Root: בל (bal); Form: Preposition לְ + negative particle; Translation: “that not”; Notes: Introduces a negated purpose clause.
- שַׁחֲתָהּ (shaḥatah) – Root: שׁחת (shaḥat); Form: Qal infinitive construct with 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “to destroy it”; Notes: Refers to the potential destruction of the land.
- וְלֹא (ve-lo) – Form: Conjunction + negative particle; Translation: “but not”; Notes: Marks contrast to expectation.
- מָצָאתִי (matsaʾti) – Root: מצא (matsaʾ); Form: Qal perfect 1st person common singular; Translation: “I found”; Notes: YHWH emphasizes the absence of even one righteous intercessor.