לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְלַגֵּ֤ר וְלַתֹּושָׁב֙ בְּתֹוכָ֔ם תִּהְיֶ֛ינָה שֵׁשׁ־הֶעָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה לְמִקְלָ֑ט לָנ֣וּס שָׁ֔מָּה כָּל־מַכֵּה־נֶ֖פֶשׁ בִּשְׁגָגָֽה׃
For the children of Yisraʾel, and for the sojourner and resident alien among them, these six cities shall be for refuge, for anyone who kills a person unintentionally to flee there.
Morphology
- לִבְנֵ֣י (livnei) – Root: בן (bn); Form: Preposition with noun, masculine plural construct; Translation: “for the children of”; Notes: Indicates possession or belonging.
- יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל (Yisra’el) – Root: ישראל (Ysrʾl); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yisra’el”; Notes: Refers to the people of Israel.
- וְלַגֵּ֤ר (ve-la-ger) – Root: גור (gwr); Form: Conjunction with preposition and noun, masculine singular; Translation: “and for the sojourner”; Notes: Refers to a non-Israelite living among them.
- וְלַתֹּושָׁב֙ (ve-la-toshav) – Root: ישב (yshv); Form: Conjunction with preposition and noun, masculine singular; Translation: “and for the resident alien”; Notes: Refers to a long-term resident without full rights.
- בְּתֹוכָ֔ם (be-tokham) – Root: תוך (twk); Form: Preposition with noun, masculine singular construct and pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “among them”; Notes: Indicates location within a group.
- תִּהְיֶ֛ינָה (tihyenah) – Root: היה (hyh); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine plural; Translation: “shall they be”; Notes: Refers to the six cities.
- שֵׁשׁ־הֶעָרִ֥ים (shesh-heʿarim) – Root: שש (shsh) / עיר (ʿyr); Form: Numeral with definite noun, feminine plural; Translation: “the six cities”; Notes: Specifies the number and identity of the cities.
- הָאֵ֖לֶּה (ha-elleh) – Root: אלה (ʾlh); Form: Demonstrative pronoun, feminine plural; Translation: “these”; Notes: Refers to the aforementioned cities.
- לְמִקְלָ֑ט (le-miqlat) – Root: קלט (qlṭ); Form: Preposition with noun, masculine singular; Translation: “for refuge”; Notes: Indicates the purpose of the cities.
- לָנ֣וּס (la-nus) – Root: נוס (ns); Form: Preposition with infinitive construct; Translation: “to flee”; Notes: Describes the action of seeking safety.
- שָׁ֔מָּה (shamah) – Root: שם (shm); Form: Adverb; Translation: “there”; Notes: Indicates the direction of fleeing.
- כָּל־מַכֵּה־נֶ֖פֶשׁ (kol-makkeh-nefesh) – Root: נכה (nkh) / נפש (npsh); Form: Noun construct; Translation: “anyone who kills a person”; Notes: Refers to unintentional manslaughter.
- בִּשְׁגָגָֽה (bishgagah) – Root: שגה (shgh); Form: Noun, feminine singular; Translation: “unintentionally”; Notes: Indicates lack of intent.