וּמִדְיָ֨ן וַעֲמָלֵ֤ק וְכָל־בְּנֵי־קֶ֨דֶם֙ נֹפְלִ֣ים בָּעֵ֔מֶק כָּאַרְבֶּ֖ה לָרֹ֑ב וְלִגְמַלֵּיהֶם֙ אֵ֣ין מִסְפָּ֔ר כַּחֹ֛ול שֶׁעַל־שְׂפַ֥ת הַיָּ֖ם לָרֹֽב׃
And Midyan and Amaleq and all the sons of the East were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts, and their camels were without number, as the sand on the seashore in multitude.
Morphology
- וּמִדְיָ֨ן (u-Midyan) – Root: מדין (Midyan); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “And Midyan”; Notes: Refers to the Midianites.
- וַעֲמָלֵ֤ק (va-ʿAmaleq) – Root: עמלק (ʿAmaleq); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “and Amaleq”; Notes: Refers to the Amalekites.
- וְכָל־בְּנֵי־קֶ֨דֶם֙ (ve-khol bene Qedem) – Root: בן (ben), קדם (Qedem); Form: Construct noun phrase; Translation: “and all the sons of the East”; Notes: Refers to eastern nomadic tribes.
- נֹפְלִ֣ים (nofelim) – Root: נפל (nafal); Form: Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “were lying”; Notes: Indicates their position in the valley.
- בָּעֵ֔מֶק (ba-ʿemeq) – Root: עמק (ʿemeq); Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “in the valley”; Notes: Refers to their encampment.
- כָּאַרְבֶּ֖ה (ka-arbeh) – Root: ארבה (arbeh); Form: Noun, masculine singular with prefix כ־ (as); Translation: “as locusts”; Notes: Used metaphorically for numerousness.
- לָרֹ֑ב (la-rov) – Root: רבב (ravav); Form: Preposition + noun; Translation: “in multitude”; Notes: Expresses their large numbers.
- וְלִגְמַלֵּיהֶם֙ (u-li-gemalleihem) – Root: גמל (gamal); Form: Noun, masculine plural with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “and their camels”; Notes: Refers to their vast number of camels.
- אֵ֣ין מִסְפָּ֔ר (ein mispar) – Root: ספר (safar); Form: Noun phrase; Translation: “were without number”; Notes: Hyperbolic phrase for countlessness.
- כַּחֹ֛ול (ka-ḥol) – Root: חול (ḥol); Form: Noun, masculine singular with prefix כ־ (as); Translation: “as the sand”; Notes: Common biblical imagery for vast quantity.
- שֶׁעַל־ (she-ʿal) – Root: על (ʿal); Form: Relative pronoun with preposition; Translation: “that is on”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause.
- שְׂפַ֥ת (sefat) – Root: שפה (safah); Form: Noun, feminine singular construct; Translation: “shore of”; Notes: Refers to the seashore.
- הַיָּ֖ם (ha-yam) – Root: ים (yam); Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the sea”; Notes: Literal reference to the ocean.
- לָרֹֽב (la-rov) – Root: רבב (ravav); Form: Preposition + noun; Translation: “in multitude”; Notes: Parallelism emphasizing their vastness.