וְאֶל־קַ֥יִן וְאֶל־מִנְחָתֹ֖ו לֹ֣א שָׁעָ֑ה וַיִּ֤חַר לְקַ֨יִן֙ מְאֹ֔ד וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ פָּנָֽיו׃
But to Qayin and to his offering He did not look with favor, and Qayin was very angry, and his face fell.
Explanation of Feature
This verse from Genesis 4:5 contains two noteworthy grammatical features:
1. Emotion verbs with לְ (lamed) – as seen in וַיִּחַר לְקַיִן, “Qayin became angry.” In Hebrew, anger is often described with the verb חָרָה (“to burn”) used impersonally with a lamed preposition marking the subject: “it burned to Qayin.”
2. The idiom וַיִּפְּלוּ פָּנָיו (“his face fell”) – a vivid expression of emotional distress or shame. This is a fixed idiomatic construction in Biblical Hebrew where the verb is plural (פָּנִים = “face” is plural in form) but refers to a single subject.
Examples from Genesis 4:5
| Phrase | Form | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| וַיִּחַר לְקַיִן | Wayyiqtol, Qal, 3ms + לְ | “And it burned to Qayin” – idiomatic for “Qayin was angry” |
| מְאֹד | Adverb | “Very” – intensifies the degree of anger |
| וַיִּפְּלוּ פָּנָיו | Wayyiqtol, Qal, 3mp + noun (plural form) | “And his face fell” – idiomatic phrase indicating visible emotional dejection |
Related Grammatical Insight
– The verb חָרָה is impersonal and often used with לְ + noun to indicate to whom the anger is directed internally.
– The word פָּנִים (“face”) is plural in form but often refers to a singular object, leading to syntactic pairings with plural verbs when used idiomatically (e.g., נָפְלוּ פָּנָיו, “his face fell”).
This verse powerfully conveys inner emotional turmoil using compact idiomatic Hebrew rooted in bodily and burning imagery.
