וַיָּבֵ֣א אֹתִ֗י אֶל־חֲצַ֣ר בֵּית־יְהוָה֮ הַפְּנִימִית֒ וְהִנֵּה־פֶ֜תַח הֵיכַ֣ל יְהוָ֗ה בֵּ֤ין הָֽאוּלָם֙ וּבֵ֣ין הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ כְּעֶשְׂרִ֥ים וַחֲמִשָּׁ֖ה אִ֑ישׁ אֲחֹ֨רֵיהֶ֜ם אֶל־הֵיכַ֤ל יְהוָה֙ וּפְנֵיהֶ֣ם קֵ֔דְמָה וְהֵ֛מָּה מִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶ֥ם קֵ֖דְמָה לַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃
And he brought me to the inner court of the house of YHWH, and behold, at the entrance of the temple of YHWH, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward the temple of YHWH and their faces eastward, and they were bowing themselves eastward to the sun.
Morphology
- וַיָּבֵא (va-yave) – Root: בוא; Form: Hiphil wayyiqtol 3ms; Translation: “And he brought”; Notes: Causative verb; divine agent brings Ezekiel.
- אֹתִי (oti) – Root: את; Form: Object marker + 1cs suffix; Translation: “me”; Notes: Marks Ezekiel as the object of the action.
- אֶל־חֲצַר (el-ḥatsar) – Root: חצר; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “to the court”; Notes: Locative phrase.
- בֵּית־יְהוָה (beit-YHWH) – Root: בית; Form: Construct chain; Translation: “house of YHWH”; Notes: Refers to the Jerusalem temple.
- הַפְּנִימִית (ha-penimit) – Root: פנים; Form: Definite adjective feminine singular; Translation: “the inner”; Notes: Refers to the inner court of the temple complex.
- וְהִנֵּה (ve-hinneh) – Form: Deictic particle; Translation: “and behold”; Notes: Marks sudden perception.
- פֶתַח (petach) – Root: פתח; Form: Noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “entrance”; Notes: Refers to the entryway of the temple.
- הֵיכַל (heikhal) – Root: יכל; Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “temple of”; Notes: Refers to the sanctuary of YHWH.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The divine name.
- בֵּין (bein) – Root: בין; Form: Preposition; Translation: “between”; Notes: Establishes relation between two places.
- הָאוּלָם (ha-ʾulam) – Root: אול; Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the porch”; Notes: Architectural feature of the temple.
- וּבֵין (u-vein) – Root: בין; Form: Conjunction + preposition; Translation: “and between”; Notes: Connects the paired spatial terms.
- הַמִּזְבֵּחַ (ha-mizbeaḥ) – Root: זבח; Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the altar”; Notes: Refers to the sacrificial altar in the court.
- כְּעֶשְׂרִים (ke-esrim) – Root: עשרים; Form: Preposition כְ + numeral; Translation: “about twenty”; Notes: Approximate count.
- וַחֲמִשָּׁה (va-ḥamishah) – Root: חמשׁ; Form: Conjunction + numeral masculine singular; Translation: “and five”; Notes: Together with previous numeral forms “twenty-five.”
- אִישׁ (ish) – Root: אישׁ; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “men”; Notes: Collective reference to individuals.
- אֲחֹרֵיהֶם (aḥoreihem) – Root: אחור; Form: Noun masculine plural construct + 3mp suffix; Translation: “their backs”; Notes: Indicates orientation away from the temple.
- אֶל־הֵיכַל (el-heikhal) – Root: יכל; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “toward the temple”; Notes: Indicates spatial relation.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Sacred name, temple is identified as His.
- וּפְנֵיהֶם (u-fneihem) – Root: פנה; Form: Conjunction + noun masculine plural construct + 3mp suffix; Translation: “and their faces”; Notes: Denotes orientation toward the east.
- קֵדְמָה (kedmah) – Root: קדם; Form: Adverb with directional he; Translation: “eastward”; Notes: Indicates direction of worship.
- וְהֵמָּה (ve-hemmah) – Root: הם; Form: Independent pronoun 3mp; Translation: “and they”; Notes: Subject of the following action.
- מִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶם (mishtaḥavitim) – Root: חוה; Form: Hishtaphel (Hishtafel) participle masculine plural; Translation: “were bowing themselves”; Notes: Reflexive/intensive form, describing worship posture.
- קֵדְמָה (kedmah) – Root: קדם; Form: Adverb with directional he; Translation: “eastward”; Notes: Repetition emphasizes direction of their worship.
- לַשָּׁמֶשׁ (la-shemesh) – Root: שׁמשׁ; Form: Preposition לְ + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “to the sun”; Notes: Identifies the object of their worship.