וְאֶל־אֶ֖רֶץ יַבִּ֑יט וְהִנֵּ֨ה צָרָ֤ה וַחֲשֵׁכָה֙ מְע֣וּף צוּקָ֔ה וַאֲפֵלָ֖ה מְנֻדָּֽח׃
(Isaiah 8:22)
And he will look to the earth, and behold: distress and darkness, flying anguish, and thick darkness upon the driven one.
Word-by-Word Explanation
- וְאֶל־אֶרֶץ — “and to the land/earth.” Preposition אֶל (“to, toward”) + noun אֶרֶץ (“land, earth”).
- יַבִּיט — “he will look.” Hifil imperfect 3rd masculine singular from נבט (“to look, gaze”). In Hifil, often “cause oneself to look attentively.”
- וְהִנֵּה — “and behold!” An interjection alerting the listener to what follows.
- צָרָה — “distress, trouble.” From the root צ.ר.ה (“to bind, be in straits”).
- וַחֲשֵׁכָה — “and darkness.” Feminine form related to חֹשֶׁךְ (“darkness”).
- מְעוּף צוּקָה — “flying anguish.” מְעוּף is the passive participle (Pu‘al) of עוּף (“to fly”), so literally “flown, flying.” Paired with צוּקָה (“anguish, oppression”), the image is of disaster swooping down swiftly like a bird of prey.
- וַאֲפֵלָה — “and thick darkness.” Stronger than חֹשֶׁךְ, connoting heavy gloom.
- מְנֻדָּח — “driven away / banished.” Passive participle (Pu‘al) from נָדַח (“to drive away, banish”). Poetic ambiguity: is the person banished into darkness, or is the darkness itself driven down upon him? Both readings heighten the sense of hopelessness.
Word Order and Sentence Flow
The verse paints its picture in layers:
- וְאֶל־אֶרֶץ יַבִּיט — “He will look to the land.”
- וְהִנֵּה… — “and behold!”
- צָרָה וַחֲשֵׁכָה — “distress and darkness.”
- מְעוּף צוּקָה — “anguish that swoops down like a bird.”
- וַאֲפֵלָה מְנֻדָּח — “and thick darkness upon the driven one / he is driven into thick darkness.”
The movement is visual: a gaze, a sudden vision, then a piling up of images that culminates in banishment into unrelenting gloom.
Imagery Flow Chart
| Action | What He Sees | Final Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| יַבִּיט He looks |
צָרָה — distress חֲשֵׁכָה — darkness מְעוּף צוּקָה — flying anguish (swooping disaster) |
וַאֲפֵלָה מְנֻדָּח thick darkness upon the driven one |
How the Sentence Works (Intermediate View)
- Verb + interjection: יַבִּיט… וְהִנֵּה sets up a dramatic scene — “he looks, and behold…”
- Rare participle: מְעוּף (“flying”) shows how Hebrew poetry uses imagery from nature (flight) to describe disaster.
- Poetic compression: The phrase וַאֲפֵלָה מְנֻדָּח has no clear subject — a typical prophetic style that forces the reader to imagine multiple possibilities.
Hebrew Unlocked!
This verse teaches you how Hebrew poetry piles image upon image, leaving space for ambiguity and imagination. You learned that מְעוּף doesn’t mean “shadow” but “flying,” turning anguish into a bird of prey swooping down. You also saw how מְנֻדָּח leaves open whether the darkness swallows the person, or the person is cast into it. Either way, the effect is chilling — and deeply poetic. By working through this, you’ve taken another step from narrative into the dense, powerful world of prophetic Hebrew.
“Strange words may feel heavy at first, but each rare form you wrestle with unlocks more of Hebrew’s poetic beauty.”
