וַיָּבֹ֣א גִדְעֹ֔ון וְהִ֨נֵּה־אִ֔ישׁ מְסַפֵּ֥ר לְרֵעֵ֖הוּ חֲלֹ֑ום וַיֹּ֜אמֶר הִנֵּ֧ה חֲלֹ֣ום חָלַ֗מְתִּי וְהִנֵּ֨ה צְלִיל לֶ֤חֶם שְׂעֹרִים֙ מִתְהַפֵּךְ֙ בְּמַחֲנֵ֣ה מִדְיָ֔ן וַיָּבֹ֣א עַד־֠הָאֹהֶל וַיַּכֵּ֧הוּ וַיִּפֹּ֛ל וַיַּהַפְכֵ֥הוּ לְמַ֖עְלָה וְנָפַ֥ל הָאֹֽהֶל׃
And Gideʿon came, and behold, a man was recounting a dream to his companion, and he said, “Behold, I have dreamed a dream, and behold, a round loaf of barley bread was tumbling in the camp of Midyan, and it came to the tent and struck it, and it fell, and it turned it upside down, and the tent collapsed.”
Morphology
- וַיָּבֹ֣א (va-yavo) – Root: בוא (bo); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (sequential imperfect) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he came”; Notes: Indicates past narrative sequence.
- גִדְעֹ֔ון (Gidʿon) – Root: גדעון (Gidʿon); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Gidʿon”; Notes: Name of the biblical judge.
- וְהִ֨נֵּה־אִ֔ישׁ (ve-hinneh ish) – Root: איש (ish); Form: Interjection + noun, masculine singular; Translation: “and behold, a man”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
- מְסַפֵּ֥ר (mesaper) – Root: ספר (safar); Form: Piel participle masculine singular; Translation: “was recounting”; Notes: Indicates continuous action.
- לְרֵעֵ֖הוּ (le-re’ehu) – Root: רע (reaʿ); Form: Noun, masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “to his companion”; Notes: Direct object of “recounting.”
- חֲלֹ֑ום (ḥalom) – Root: חלם (ḥalam); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “a dream”; Notes: Direct object.
- וַיֹּ֜אמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he said”; Notes: Common biblical speech formula.
- הִנֵּ֧ה (hinneh) – Root: הנה (hinneh); Form: Interjection; Translation: “behold”; Notes: Draws attention to the statement.
- חֲלֹ֣ום חָלַ֗מְתִּי (ḥalom ḥalamti) – Root: חלם (ḥalam); Form: Noun + Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I have dreamed a dream”; Notes: Standard Hebrew phrase for recounting dreams.
- וְהִנֵּ֨ה (ve-hinneh) – Root: הנה (hinneh); Form: Interjection; Translation: “and behold”; Notes: Introduces another surprising element.
- צְלִיל (tselil) – Root: צלל (tsalal); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “round loaf”; Notes: A hapax legomenon, often interpreted as “round object.”
- לֶ֤חֶם שְׂעֹרִים֙ (leḥem seʿorim) – Root: לחם (leḥem), שער (seʿor); Form: Noun construct phrase; Translation: “a barley bread”; Notes: Symbolic of something humble or common.
- מִתְהַפֵּךְ֙ (mit-hapekh) – Root: הפך (haphakh); Form: Hitpael participle masculine singular; Translation: “was tumbling”; Notes: Continuous action.
- בְּמַחֲנֵ֣ה מִדְיָ֔ן (be-maḥane Midyan) – Root: חנה (ḥanah); Form: Prepositional phrase; Translation: “in the camp of Midyan”; Notes: Describes location.
- וַיָּבֹ֣א (va-yavo) – Root: בוא (bo); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and it came”; Notes: Indicates motion.
- עַד־֠הָאֹהֶל (ʿad-ha-ohel) – Root: אהל (ohel); Form: Prepositional phrase; Translation: “to the tent”; Notes: Destination of the loaf.
- וַיַּכֵּ֧הוּ (va-yakkehu) – Root: נכה (nakah); Form: Hifil wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “and it struck it”; Notes: Cause-and-effect structure.
- וַיִּפֹּ֛ל (va-yippol) – Root: נפל (nafal); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and it fell”; Notes: Direct result of the impact.
- וַיַּהַפְכֵ֥הוּ (va-yahapkhehu) – Root: הפך (haphakh); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “and it turned it upside down”; Notes: Complete destruction.
- לְמַ֖עְלָה (le-maʿlah) – Root: מעל (maʿal); Form: Adverb; Translation: “upward”; Notes: Describes orientation shift.
- וְנָפַ֥ל (ve-nafal) – Root: נפל (nafal); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and it collapsed”; Notes: Final result.
- הָאֹֽהֶל (ha-ohel) – Root: אהל (ohel); Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the tent”; Notes: Refers to the tent in the dream that collapsed.