אֲרָזִ֣ים לֹֽא־עֲמָמֻהוּ֮ בְּגַן־אֱלֹהִים֒ בְּרֹושִׁ֗ים לֹ֤א דָמוּ֙ אֶל־סְעַפֹּתָ֔יו וְעַרְמֹנִ֥ים לֹֽא־הָי֖וּ כְּפֹֽארֹתָ֑יו כָּל־עֵץ֙ בְּגַן־אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹא־דָמָ֥ה אֵלָ֖יו בְּיָפְיֹֽו׃
The cedars in the garden of God could not overshadow it; the fir trees were not like its branches, and the plane trees were not like its boughs; no tree in the garden of God was comparable to it in its beauty.
Morphology
- אֲרָזִים (ʾarazim) – Root: ארז (ʾerez); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “cedars”; Notes: Symbolic of strength and grandeur; even other mighty trees cannot rival the described cedar (Assyria).
- לֹא־עֲמָמֻהוּ (lo-ʿamamuhu) – Root: עָמַם (ʿamam); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person common plural + suffix 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “did not overshadow it”; Notes: Expresses superiority—no other cedars could cover or equal its majesty in God’s garden.
- בְּגַן־אֱלֹהִים (be-gan ʾelohim) – Root: גן (gan); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular construct + noun masculine plural; Translation: “in the garden of God”; Notes: Refers to Eden as a metaphor for divine planting—God’s creation, representing perfection and blessing.
- בְּרֹושִׁים (be-roshim) – Root: ברושׁ (berosh); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “fir trees”; Notes: Commonly symbolizes stately yet lesser trees; represents nations of notable stature but inferior to the “cedar.”
- לֹא (lo) – Root: —; Form: Particle of negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: Used repeatedly for emphasis, building a pattern of negated comparison.
- דָמוּ (dāmu) – Root: דמה (damah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person common plural; Translation: “were like,” “resembled”; Notes: Indicates inability of others to equal its grandeur—repetition reinforces the cedar’s uniqueness.
- אֶל־סְעַפֹּתָיו (el-seʿappotav) – Root: סעף (saʿaf); Form: Preposition אֶל + noun feminine plural + suffix 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “to its branches”; Notes: Comparison of other trees’ branches to the majestic spread of the cedar’s limbs.
- וְעַרְמֹנִים (ve-ʿarmonim) – Root: ערמון (ʿarmon); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “plane trees”; Notes: Another noble species, here serving as metaphor for other powerful nations or kingdoms.
- לֹא־הָיוּ (lo-hayu) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person common plural; Translation: “were not”; Notes: Simple negation of existence or equivalence—underscoring incomparability.
- כְּפָארֹתָיו (ke-paʾrotav) – Root: פאר (paʾar); Form: Preposition כְּ + noun feminine plural + suffix 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “like its boughs”; Notes: Refers to beauty and splendor—no other tree’s glory matched it.
- כָּל־עֵץ (kol-ʿets) – Root: עץ (ʿets); Form: Noun masculine singular construct + כָּל (“all”); Translation: “every tree”; Notes: Universalizing comparison; all trees in Eden fail to match its beauty.
- בְּגַן־אֱלֹהִים (be-gan ʾelohim) – Root: גן (gan); Form: Preposition + construct phrase; Translation: “in the garden of God”; Notes: Repeated for emphasis—divine imagery heightens the irony of Assyria’s fall from paradise-like exaltation.
- לֹא־דָמָה (lo-damah) – Root: דמה (damah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “was not like”; Notes: Singular form contrasts the collective inferiority of others with the singular majesty of the cedar.
- אֵלָיו (elav) – Root: —; Form: Preposition אֶל + suffix 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “to it”; Notes: Refers directly to the cedar—personalized as the paragon of beauty.
- בְּיָפְיֹו (be-yafyo) – Root: יפי (yofi); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular + suffix 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “in its beauty”; Notes: Culminating phrase—stresses aesthetic and symbolic perfection that no other creation rivaled.