אֵ֣שֶׁת

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 אֵ֣שֶׁת

   E-shet

   wife of
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 אֵ֣שֶׁת שָׁא֔וּל

   E-shet sha-UL

   wife of Saul
3. clause🔊 וְשֵׁם֙ אֵ֣שֶׁת שָׁא֔וּל אֲחִינֹ֖עַם בַּת־אֲחִימָ֑עַץ

   ve-SHEM E-shet sha-UL a-khi-NO-am bat-a-khi-MA-ats

   and name wife of Saul Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz
4. sentence🔊 וְשֵׁם֙ אֵ֣שֶׁת שָׁא֔וּל אֲחִינֹ֖עַם בַּת־אֲחִימָ֑עַץ וְשֵׁ֤ם שַׂר־צְבָאוֹ֙ אֲבִינֵ֔ר בֶּן־נֵ֖ר דּ֥וֹד שָׁאֽוּל׃

   ve-SHEM E-shet sha-UL a-khi-NO-am bat-a-khi-MA-ats ve-SHEM sar-tse-va-O a-vi-NER ben-NER DOD sha-UL

   and name wife of Saul Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz and name commander of his army Abner son of Ner uncle of Saul

Exegesis

Construct chains such as eshet {אֵשֶׁת | ʾē-šet} ‘wife of’, bat {בַּת־ | baṯ-} ‘daughter of’, sar {שַׂר־ | sār-} ‘commander’, and tseva’o {צְבָאוֹ֙ | tse-vā-ʾō} ‘his army’ bind relational and military roles tightly. The Hebrew verbless structure requires the addition of a copula ‘was’ in English. The repetition of veshem creates a parallelism that emphasizes both familial and leadership relationships.

Root and etymology

א-י-ש🔊 aleph–yod–shinʾ-y-š

“woman, wife”

• 🔊 אִשָּׁהishahwomanGenesis 2:23