כִּֽי־יְהוָ֥ה

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 כִּֽי־יְהוָ֥ה

   ki-ye-ho-VAH

   that the LORD
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 כִּֽי־יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָ֖יו

   ki-ye-ho-VAH e-lo-HAV

   that the LORD his God
3. clause🔊 כִּֽי־נָפְל֨וּ עָלָ֤יו מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל֙ לָרֹ֔ב בִּרְאֹתָ֕ם כִּֽי־יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָ֖יו עִמּֽוֹ׃

   ki-na-fe-LU a-LAV mi-yis-ra-EL la-ROV bir-o-TAM ki-ye-ho-VAH e-lo-HAV im-MO

   for they had fallen to him or upon him from Israel in abundance when they saw that the LORD his God was with him
4. sentence🔊 וַיִּקְבֹּ֗ץ אֶת־כָּל־יְהוּדָה֙ וּבִנְיָמִ֔ן וְהַגָּרִים֙ עִמָּהֶ֔ם מֵאֶפְרַ֥יִם וּמְנַשֶּׁ֖ה וּמִשִּׁמְע֑וֹן כִּֽי־נָפְל֨וּ עָלָ֤יו מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל֙ לָרֹ֔ב בִּרְאֹתָ֕ם כִּֽי־יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָ֖יו עִמּֽוֹ׃

   va-yik-BOTS et-KOL-ye-hu-DA u-vin-ya-MIN ve-ha-ga-RIM im-ma-HEM me-ef-ra-YIM u-me-na-SHE u-mish-shim-ON ki-na-fe-LU a-LAV mi-yis-ra-EL la-ROV bir-o-TAM ki-ye-ho-VAH e-lo-HAV im-MO

   and he gathered {the marker of} all Judah and Benjamin and the sojourners with them from Ephraim and from Manasseh and from Simeon for they had fallen to him or upon him from Israel in abundance when they saw that the LORD his God was with him

Exegesis

The causal clause introduced by kî {כִּֽי־ | kî} ‘for’ uses the Qal perfect naflu {נָפְלוּ | nāpə-lû} ‘they had fallen’, the prepositional phrase ʿalav {עָלָיו | ʿālāw} ‘upon him’, and lā-rōv {לָרֹב | lā-rōv} ‘in great number’ to denote mass defection.

The temporal-causal construction bi-rotham {בִּרְאֹתָם | bir-ʾōtām} ‘when they saw’ plus kî {כִּֽי־ | kî} ‘that’ introduces the subordinate clause centered on the compound divine title YHWH Elohav {יְהוָה אֱלֹהָיו | Yəhôwāh ʾĕlōhāwv}, followed by the prepositional complement ʿimmō {עִמּוֹ | ʿimmō} ‘with him’. This structure highlights how Divine presence motivated Israel’s allegiance while preserving Hebrew clause order.