10
When Joab saw the battle lines before him and behind him, he selected some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Arameans.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
yō·w·’āḇ way·yar kî- hā·yə·ṯāh ham·mil·ḥā·māh ’ê·lāw pā·nîm p̄ə·nê- wə·’ā·ḥō·wr way·yiḇ·ḥar mik·kāl bā·ḥūr bə·yiś·rā·’êl way·ya·‘ă·rōḵ liq·raṯ ’ă·rām
Word by word16 · parsed
√ Yôwʼâb — Joab, the name of three IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
√ râʼâh — to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
râʼâh: to see The unit is built on four acts of seeing (here, and at verses 15, 16, 19), and each one produces a decision. Joab sees a geometry, not an omen.
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalPerfectthird person feminine singular
√ milchâmâh — a battle (iArticleNounfeminine singular
milchâmâh: a battle Fronted here in construct with pânîm, so the noun is not the subject of a report but the thing that has a face turned toward Joab. It recurs at verses 14 and 17 to bracket the whole campaign.
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPrepositionthird person masculine singular
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Nounmasculine plural
pânîm: the face, as the part that turns The lexicon's gloss is the point: a face is what turns. Joab's problem is that two faces are turned on him at once, and the same noun will describe his enemies' backs at verse 14 when they flee from his face.
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Nounmasculine plural construct
pânîm: the face (construct) The construct form binds face to battle. Ancient Hebrew has no word for a “line” in the military sense; the army's front is its face, and its rear is literally its behind.
√ ʼâchôwr — the hinder partConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular
ʼâchôwr: the hinder part A plain spatial noun, not a military term. The pairing of pânîm with ʼâchôwr is the whole tactical crisis in two words: whichever way Joab turns his face, his back is exposed.
√ bâchar — properly, to try, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
√ kôl — properly, the wholePreposition-mNounmasculine singular construct
√ bâchar — properly, to try, iVerbQalQalPassParticiplemasculine singular
bâchar: properly, to try, i(.e. select) The lexicon's root sense is to test and so to pick, which is why the same root yields both Joab's verb and the noun for his picked men. Cambridge explains the choice tactically: the chariots made the Arameans the graver threat, so Joab spent his best troops on them.
√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobPreposition-bNounpropermasculine singular
√ ʻârak — to set in a row, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
ʻârak: to set in a row The signature verb of this unit, used of Joab here, of Abishai's division in verse 11, and twice of David in verse 17. Ellicott observes that the same Hebrew phrase recurs in verse 11, so the two brothers do the identical thing in opposite directions.
√ qârâʼ — to encounter, whether accidentally or in a hostile mannerPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
qârâʼ: to encounter, whether accidentally or in a hostile manner The infinitive liqraṯ is not a preposition meaning “against” but a verb of meeting, and BSB flattens it. Ellicott notes on verse 14 that this same preposition was elsewhere rendered “to meet.” Joab does not merely oppose Aram; he goes out to meet it.
√ ʼĂrâm — Aram or Syria, and its inhabitantsNounproperfeminine singular