הָי֞וּ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 הָי֞וּ

   ha-YU

   they became or they were
2. clause🔊 הָי֞וּ עֵ֤שֶׂב שָׂדֶה֙ וִ֣ירַק דֶּ֔שֶׁא חֲצִ֣יר גַּגּ֔וֹת וּשְׁדֵפָ֖ה לִפְנֵ֥י קָמָֽה׃

   ha-YU E-sev sa-DE vi-RAK DE-she kha-tsir ga-GOT u-she-de-FA lif-NE ka-MA

   they became or they were grass or plant of a field and green growth or and green thing tender grass or fresh grass grass or hay rooftops and scorching or and blight before standing grain or stalk
3. sentence🔊 וְיֹֽשְׁבֵיהֶן֙ קִצְרֵי־יָ֔ד חַ֖תּוּ וַיֵּבֹ֑שׁוּ הָי֞וּ עֵ֤שֶׂב שָׂדֶה֙ וִ֣ירַק דֶּ֔שֶׁא חֲצִ֣יר גַּגּ֔וֹת וּשְׁדֵפָ֖ה לִפְנֵ֥י קָמָֽה׃

   ve-yo-she-VE-hem kits-re-YAD kha-TU va-ye-VO-shu ha-YU E-sev sa-DE vi-RAK DE-she kha-tsir ga-GOT u-she-de-FA lif-NE ka-MA

   and their inhabitants short of hand or short-handed were shattered or were dismayed and they were put to shame they became or they were grass or plant of a field and green growth or and green thing tender grass or fresh grass grass or hay rooftops and scorching or and blight before standing grain or stalk

Exegesis

The perfect verb hayu {הָיוּ | hā-yû} ‘they were’ introduces a series of paratactic similes: essev sadeh {עֵשֶׂב שָׂדֶה | ʿê-seḇ śā-ḏeh} ‘grass of the field’, vayeraq deshe {וִירַק דֶּשֶׁא | wə-yī-rāq de-śeʾ} ‘green herb’, chatzir gagot {חֲצִיר גַּגּוֹת | ḥă-ṣîr gag-gōṯ} ‘blades of grass on roofs’, and ushdefah {וּשְׁדֵפָה | u-šᵉ-ḏê-pā} ‘scorched’.