לְאַרְבַּ֨ע רוּחֹ֜ות מְדָדֹ֗ו חֹ֤ומָה לֹו֙ סָבִ֣יב סָבִ֔יב אֹ֚רֶךְ חֲמֵ֣שׁ מֵאֹ֔ות וְרֹ֖חַב חֲמֵ֣שׁ מֵאֹ֑ות לְהַבְדִּ֕יל בֵּ֥ין הַקֹּ֖דֶשׁ לְחֹֽל׃
He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall round about, the length five hundred and the width five hundred, to separate between the holy and the common.
Morphology
- לְאַרְבַּע (le-arbaʿ) – Root: ארבע (ʾarbaʿ); Form: Preposition לְ + numeral feminine singular; Translation: “for four” or “on four”; Notes: Refers to the four directions or quarters of measurement—east, north, south, and west.
- רוּחֹות (ruḥot) – Root: רוח (ruaḥ); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “sides” or “directions”; Notes: Refers here to the four compass directions around the temple enclosure.
- מְדָדֹו (medado) – Root: מדד (madad); Form: Noun masculine singular with suffix 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “his measurement” or “its measurement”; Notes: Refers to the act or result of measuring the temple’s perimeter.
- חֹומָה (ḥomah) – Root: חמה (ḥamah); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “wall”; Notes: Refers to the outer boundary wall surrounding the temple area.
- לֹו (lo) – Root: —; Form: Preposition לְ + suffix 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “for it” or “belonging to it”; Notes: Refers to the wall that was part of the temple’s structure.
- סָבִיב (saviv) – Root: סבב (savav); Form: Adverb; Translation: “around”; Notes: Describes the wall as encircling the entire temple complex.
- סָבִיב (saviv) – Root: סבב (savav); Form: Adverb (repeated for emphasis); Translation: “round about”; Notes: Repetition emphasizes total enclosure on all sides.
- אֹרֶךְ (ʾorekh) – Root: ארך (ʾarakh); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “length”; Notes: Measurement of one dimension of the temple enclosure.
- חֲמֵשׁ (ḥamesh) – Root: חמשׁ (ḥamesh); Form: Numeral feminine singular; Translation: “five”; Notes: Part of the compound number describing the measurement.
- מֵאֹות (meʾot) – Root: מא (meʾah); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “hundred(s)”; Notes: Combined with ḥamesh to form “five hundred.”
- וְרֹחַב (ve-roḥav) – Root: רחב (raḥav); Form: Conjunction וְ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and the width”; Notes: Parallel measure complementing the length to describe the enclosure’s square proportions.
- חֲמֵשׁ (ḥamesh) – Root: חמשׁ (ḥamesh); Form: Numeral feminine singular; Translation: “five”; Notes: Same numerical value as the length, emphasizing symmetrical design.
- מֵאֹות (meʾot) – Root: מא (meʾah); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “hundred(s)”; Notes: Together with ḥamesh, completes “five hundred” as the width measurement.
- לְהַבְדִּיל (le-havdil) – Root: בדל (badal); Form: Preposition לְ + Hiphil infinitive construct; Translation: “to separate”; Notes: Indicates the purpose of the wall — to distinguish areas of differing sanctity.
- בֵּין (bein) – Root: בין (bein); Form: Preposition; Translation: “between”; Notes: Marks contrast or division between two categories.
- הַקֹּדֶשׁ (ha-qodesh) – Root: קדשׁ (qadash); Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the holy”; Notes: Refers to the sanctified portion of the temple area.
- לְחֹל (le-ḥol) – Root: חלל (ḥalal); Form: Preposition לְ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “from the common” or “to the common”; Notes: Denotes the profane or ordinary realm, distinct from the sacred space.