Jeremiah 46:5 – Interrogative, Participles, and Word Order in Dramatic Description

מַדּ֣וּעַ רָאִ֗יתִי הֵ֣מָּה חַתִּים֮ נְסֹגִ֣ים אָחֹור֒ וְגִבֹּורֵיהֶ֣ם יֻכַּ֔תּוּ וּמָנֹ֥וס נָ֖סוּ וְלֹ֣א הִפְנ֑וּ מָגֹ֥ור מִסָּבִ֖יב נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃

Why have I seen them dismayed and turning back? And their mighty ones are crushed, and they flee in flight and do not turn back—terror on every side, declares YHWH.

Explanation of Feature

This verse from Jeremiah 46:5 is rich in poetic and rhetorical structures, particularly:

1. The use of the interrogative particle מַדּוּעַ (“Why?”), which introduces a rhetorical question expressing astonishment or lament.
2. Multiple participles and perfect verbs in sequential word order that paint a vivid picture of military collapse.
3. The phrase מָגֹור מִסָּבִיב (“terror on every side”) is a fixed prophetic idiom used to heighten the sense of panic and divine judgment.

Examples from Jeremiah 46:5

Phrase Form Explanation
מַדּוּעַ רָאִיתִי Interrogative + perfect (1cs) “Why have I seen…?” – introduces rhetorical shock or inquiry
הֵמָּה חַתִּים נְסֹגִים אָחֹור Pronoun + participles “They are dismayed, turning back” – participial chain describing retreat
וְגִבֹּורֵיהֶם יֻכַּתּוּ Noun + passive (Pual, 3mp) “Their mighty ones are crushed” – passive action, emphasizing defeat
וּמָנֹוס נָסוּ וְלֹא הִפְנוּ Noun + perfect verbs (3mp) “They flee in flight and do not turn back” – heightens chaos and total retreat
מָגֹור מִסָּבִיב Fixed idiom “Terror on every side” – a prophetic motif of utter fear and divine judgment

Related Grammatical Insight

Participial forms like חַתִּים and נְסֹגִים are used here to describe ongoing or repeated actions, typical in poetic narrative.
– The Pual form יֻכַּתּוּ emphasizes that the warriors are not acting but are being acted upon—they are defeated.
– The idiom מָגֹור מִסָּבִיב (used elsewhere in Jeremiah: 6:25; 20:3) conveys inescapable dread—an emotional and theological conclusion.

Jeremiah 46:5 uses these forms to dramatically portray the disintegration of Egypt’s military might as a divine act of judgment.

About Biblical Hebrew

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