-
Recent Articles
- The Grammar of Divine Meteorology: Syntax and Pragmatic Force in Jeremiah 10:13
- When the Sun Stood Still: Syntax and Command in Joshua 10:12
- Woven with Wonder: Syntax and Embodied Imagery in Job 10:11
- The Wink and the Wound: Syntax, Parallelism, and Irony in Proverbs 10:10
- The Grammar of Surprise: The Wayyiqtol Chain and Temporal Progression in Joshua 10:9
- The Birth of Power: The Grammar of Beginning and Becoming in Genesis 10:8
- Genealogical Syntax and the Grammar of Nations in Genesis 10:7
- Do Not Mourn as Others Do: Restraint and Reverence in the Aftermath of Fire
- The Blast and the Camp: Exploring Hebrew Commands and Movement in Numbers 10:5
- If You Refuse: The Threat of the Locusts in Translation
- Trumpet Blasts and Assembly Syntax in Numbers 10:3
- Right and Left: A Beginner’s Guide to Hebrew Word Order in Ecclesiastes 10:2
Categories
Archives
Tag Archives: Joshua 8:3
Under the Cover of Darkness: The Hebrew Syntax of Ambush in Joshua 8:3
וַיָּ֧קָם יְהֹושֻׁ֛עַ וְכָל־עַ֥ם הַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה לַעֲלֹ֣ות הָעָ֑י וַיִּבְחַ֣ר יְ֠הֹושֻׁעַ שְׁלֹשִׁ֨ים אֶ֤לֶף אִישׁ֙ גִּבֹּורֵ֣י הַחַ֔יִל וַיִּשְׁלָחֵ֖ם לָֽיְלָה׃
(Joshua 8:3)
And Joshua rose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai. And Joshua chose thirty thousand men, mighty men of valor, and he sent them by night.
Opening Wayyiqtol Chain: Coordinated Action
וַיָּ֧קָם… וְכָל־עַ֥ם הַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה לַעֲלֹ֣ות הָעָ֑י
“And Yehoshua rose up, and all the people of war, to go up to ʿAi…”
The narrative begins with a series of wayyiqtol verbs:
וַיָּ֧קָם (and he arose)
וַיִּבְחַ֣ר (and he chose)
וַיִּשְׁלָחֵ֖ם (and he sent them)
This verbal chaining gives the account its forward-moving momentum, a hallmark of biblical Hebrew storytelling.… Learn Hebrew
Posted in Syntax
Tagged Joshua 8:3
Comments Off on Under the Cover of Darkness: The Hebrew Syntax of Ambush in Joshua 8:3