לֹ֤א תַעֲבָר־בָּהּ֙ רֶ֣גֶל אָדָ֔ם וְרֶ֥גֶל בְּהֵמָ֖ה לֹ֣א תַעֲבָר־בָּ֑הּ וְלֹ֥א תֵשֵׁ֖ב אַרְבָּעִ֥ים שָׁנָֽה׃
No foot of man shall pass through it, nor shall the foot of beast pass through it, and it shall not be inhabited for forty years.
Morphology
- לֹא (lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Used to negate the following verb; expresses total prohibition or impossibility.
- תַעֲבָר (taʿavor) – Root: עבר (ʿavar); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “shall pass”; Notes: The subject is “foot,” which is grammatically feminine in Hebrew.
- בָּהּ (bah) – Root: ב (bet); Form: Preposition בְּ + third person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “through it”; Notes: Refers to the land of Mitsrayim (Egypt), previously mentioned as the domain of devastation.
- רֶגֶל (regel) – Root: רגל (regel); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “foot”; Notes: Serves as a synecdoche for human or animal movement; symbol of life and passage.
- אָדָם (ʾadam) – Root: אדם (ʾadam); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “man”; Notes: Represents humankind in general; indicates complete absence of human presence.
- וְרֶגֶל (ve-regel) – Root: רגל (regel); Form: Conjunction וְ + noun feminine singular; Translation: “nor foot”; Notes: Connects parallel clauses; repetition intensifies total desolation.
- בְּהֵמָה (behemah) – Root: בהמה (behemah); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “beast”; Notes: Refers to domesticated or wild animals, emphasizing that even animal life will vanish from the land.
- לֹא (lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Repetition reinforces total negation—no living being will pass through the land.
- תַעֲבָר (taʿavor) – Root: עבר (ʿavar); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “shall pass”; Notes: Second occurrence, parallel to the first clause, maintaining grammatical and semantic symmetry.
- בָּהּ (bah) – Root: ב (bet); Form: Preposition בְּ + third person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “through it”; Notes: Again refers to the land of Mitsrayim, emphasizing total isolation and lifelessness.
- וְלֹא (ve-lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Conjunction וְ + negative particle; Translation: “and not”; Notes: Links the final clause describing the lasting state of uninhabitation.
- תֵשֵׁב (teshev) – Root: ישׁב (yashav); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “shall dwell” or “shall be inhabited”; Notes: Feminine subject (“land”)—the land will remain uninhabited.
- אַרְבָּעִים (arbaʿim) – Root: ארבע (arbaʿ); Form: Numeral; Translation: “forty”; Notes: Symbolic number of trial or judgment in biblical contexts; here representing a prolonged period of devastation.
- שָׁנָה (shanah) – Root: שׁנה (shanah); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “year”; Notes: Together with “forty,” specifies the time duration of Egypt’s desolation.