לֹא־הָיָ֧ה

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 לֹא־הָיָ֧ה

   lo-ha-YA

   there was not
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 לֹא־הָיָ֧ה אִישׁ־יָפֶ֛ה

   lo-ha-YA ish-ya-FE

   there was not a man handsome
3. clause🔊 וּכְאַבְשָׁל֗וֹם לֹא־הָיָ֧ה אִישׁ־יָפֶ֛ה בְּכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְהַלֵּ֣ל מְאֹ֑ד

   u-khe-av-sha-LOM lo-ha-YA ish-ya-FE be-khol-yis-ra-EL le-hal-LEL me-OD

   and like Absalom or and as for Absalom there was not a man handsome in all Israel to praise very
4. sentence🔊 וּכְאַבְשָׁל֗וֹם לֹא־הָיָ֧ה אִישׁ־יָפֶ֛ה בְּכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְהַלֵּ֣ל מְאֹ֑ד מִכַּ֤ף רַגְלוֹ֙ וְעַ֣ד קָדְקֳד֔וֹ לֹא־הָ֥יָה ב֖וֹ מֽוּם׃

   u-khe-av-sha-LOM lo-ha-YA ish-ya-FE be-khol-yis-ra-EL le-hal-LEL me-OD mi-KAF rag-LO ve-AD kad-ke-DO lo-ha-YA VO MUM

   and like Absalom or and as for Absalom there was not a man handsome in all Israel to praise very from the sole of his foot and unto his crown of head there was not in him blemish

Exegesis

The clause lo-hayah ish-yafeh {לֹא־הָיָ֧ה אִישׁ־יָפֶ֛ה | lōʾ hāyâ ʾîš yāp̄eh} uses a Qal perfect with negation to assert the absence of any comparable individual.

The final clause lo-hayah bo mum {לֹא־הָ֥יָה ב֖וֹ מֽוּם׃ | lōʾ hāyâ bô mūm} repeats negation to emphasize his flawless perfection. The English rendering preserves the Hebrew’s merism and emphatic parallelism to convey Absalom’s unparalleled beauty.