בְּעִ֣יר

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 בְּעִ֣יר

   be-IR

   in the city of
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 בְּעִ֣יר דָּוִ֔יד

   be-IR da-VID

   in the city of David
3. clause🔊 וַיֵּ֙לֶךְ֙ בְּלֹ֣א חֶמְדָּ֔ה וַֽיִּקְבְּרֻ֙הוּ֙ בְּעִ֣יר דָּוִ֔יד וְלֹ֖א בְּקִבְר֥וֹת הַמְּלָכִֽים׃

   va-ye-LEKH be-LO khem-DA va-yik-be-RU-hu be-IR da-VID ve-LO be-kiv-ROT ham-me-la-KHIM

   and he went with no or without desire or delight and they buried him in the city of David and not in the graves of the kings
4. sentence🔊 בֶּן־שְׁלֹשִׁ֤ים וּשְׁתַּ֙יִם֙ הָיָ֣ה בְמָלְכ֔וֹ וּשְׁמוֹנֶ֣ה שָׁנִ֔ים מָלַ֖ךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם וַיֵּ֙לֶךְ֙ בְּלֹ֣א חֶמְדָּ֔ה וַֽיִּקְבְּרֻ֙הוּ֙ בְּעִ֣יר דָּוִ֔יד וְלֹ֖א בְּקִבְר֥וֹת הַמְּלָכִֽים׃

   ben-she-lo-SHIM u-she-TA-yim ha-YA ve-mal-KHO u-she-mo-NE sha-NIM ma-LAKH bi-ru-sha-LIM va-ye-LEKH be-LO khem-DA va-yik-be-RU-hu be-IR da-VID ve-LO be-kiv-ROT ham-me-la-KHIM

   a son of thirty and two he was when he became king and eight years he reigned in Jerusalem and he went with no or without desire or delight and they buried him in the city of David and not in the graves of the kings

Exegesis

The final sequence wayyiqberuhu {וַֽיִּקְבְּרֻ֙הוּ֙ | wayyiqberûhû} ‘and they buried him’ gives the public action, first granting burial in beir dawid {בְּעִ֣יר דָּוִ֔יד | bə-ʿîr dāwîd} ‘the City of David’, then sharply restricting it with velo beqivrot hamelakhim {וְלֹ֖א בְּקִבְר֥וֹת הַמְּלָכִֽים | wə-lōʾ bə-qivrōt ham-məlāḵîm} ‘and not in the graves of the kings’. This final negated prepositional phrase creates the climax of dishonor: he receives a lesser burial than expected for a Davidic ruler, matching the earlier statement that he was not mourned.

Root and etymology

ʿ-y-r🔊 ayin–yod–resh

“city”

• 🔊 עָיָרוֹת`ayarottownsGenesis 25:16