וְהֵמַתָּ֞ה

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 וְהֵמַתָּ֞ה

   ve-he-MA-ta

   and put to death
2. clause🔊 וְהֵמַתָּ֞ה מֵאִ֣ישׁ עַד־אִשָּׁ֗ה מֵֽעֹלֵל֙ וְעַד־יוֹנֵ֔ק מִשּׁ֣וֹר וְעַד־שֶׂ֔ה מִגָּמָ֖ל וְעַד־חֲמֽוֹר׃

   ve-he-MA-ta me-ISH ad-i-SHA me-o-LEL ve-ad-yo-NEK mi-SHOR ve-ad-SE mi-ga-MAL ve-ad-kha-MOR

   and put to death from a man to a woman from a child and to an infant from an ox and to a sheep from a camel and to a donkey
3. sentence🔊 עַתָּה֩ לֵ֨ךְ וְהִכִּֽיתָ֜ה אֶת־עֲמָלֵ֗ק וְהַֽחֲרַמְתֶּם֙ אֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֔וֹ וְלֹ֥א תַחְמֹ֖ל עָלָ֑יו וְהֵמַתָּ֞ה מֵאִ֣ישׁ עַד־אִשָּׁ֗ה מֵֽעֹלֵל֙ וְעַד־יוֹנֵ֔ק מִשּׁ֣וֹר וְעַד־שֶׂ֔ה מִגָּמָ֖ל וְעַד־חֲמֽוֹר׃

   a-TAH LEKH ve-hi-KI-tah et-a-ma-LEK ve-ha-kha-ram-TEM et-kol-a-SHER-lo ve-LO takh-MOL a-LAV ve-he-MA-ta me-ISH ad-i-SHA me-o-LEL ve-ad-yo-NEK mi-SHOR ve-ad-SE mi-ga-MAL ve-ad-kha-MOR

   now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that belongs to him and do not spare upon him and put to death from a man to a woman from a child and to an infant from an ox and to a sheep from a camel and to a donkey

Exegesis

Finally, the hifil perfect vehē-măṯ-tā {וְהֵמַתָּ֞ה | wə-hē-măṯ-tā} ‘and you shall put to death’ initiates a comprehensive series structured by the prepositions min {מִן | min} ‘from’ and ʿad {עַד | ʿad} ‘up to’, repeated for human and animal categories (mĕ-ʾîš, ʿad-ʾîš-shā, mĕ-ʿō-lēl, wə-ʿad-yō-nēq, mĭ-šôr, wə-ʿad-sěh, mĭ-gā-māl, wə-ʿad-ḥă-môr), creating a cumulative force typical of Hebrew legal pronouncements and mirrored in English by parallel clauses.

Root and etymology

m-w-t🔊 מ־ו־תmem–vav–tav

“to cause to die, kill”

• 🔊 מָוֶתmavetdeathGenesis 2:17