עַל־פָּנָ֖יו

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 עַל־פָּנָ֖יו

   al-pa-NAV

   on his face
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 וַיִּפֹּ֥ל עַל־פָּנָ֖יו

   va-yip-POL al-pa-NAV

   and he fell on his face
3. clause🔊 וַתִּטְבַּ֤ע הָאֶ֙בֶן֙ בְּמִצְח֔וֹ וַיִּפֹּ֥ל עַל־פָּנָ֖יו אָֽרְצָה׃

   va-tit-Ba ha-E-ven be-mits-KHO va-yip-POL al-pa-NAV AR-tse

   and it sank the stone in his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground
4. sentence🔊 וַיִּשְׁלַח֩ דָּוִ֨ד אֶת־יָד֜וֹ אֶל־הַכֶּ֗לִי וַיִּקַּ֨ח מִשָּׁ֥ם אֶ֙בֶן֙ וַיְקַלַּ֔ע וַיַּ֥ךְ אֶת־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֖י אֶל־מִצְח֑וֹ וַתִּטְבַּ֤ע הָאֶ֙בֶן֙ בְּמִצְח֔וֹ וַיִּפֹּ֥ל עַל־פָּנָ֖יו אָֽרְצָה׃

   va-yish-LAKH da-VID et-YA-do el-ha-KE-li va-yik-KAKH mish-SHAM E-ven va-ye-kal-LA va-YAKH et-ha-pe-lish-TI el-mits-KHO va-tit-Ba ha-E-ven be-mits-KHO va-yip-POL al-pa-NAV AR-tse

   and he sent David the his hand to the vessel or bag and he took from there a stone and he slung and he struck the Philistine to his forehead and it sank the stone in his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground

Exegesis

The verb watitbaʿ {וַתִּטְבַּע | wa-tiṭbāʿ} ‘and it sank’ vividly portrays the stone embedding itself, while vayyipol {וַיִּפֹּל | wayyippōl} ‘and he fell’ in alpanav ertsah {עַל־פָּנָיו אָרְצָה | ʿal-pānāw ʾerṣāh} depicts the Philistine’s collapse. The direct subject–verb sequencing preserves the Hebrew’s dramatic immediacy in English.