יָנֽוּסוּ׃

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 יָנֽוּסוּ׃

   ya-NU-su

   they will flee
2. clause🔊 אִ֤ישׁ אֶל־עַמּוֹ֙ יִפְנ֔וּ וְאִ֥ישׁ אֶל־אַרְצ֖וֹ יָנֽוּסוּ׃

   ISH el-A-mo yif-NU ve-ISH el-ar-TSO ya-NU-su

   a man to his people they will turn and each man to his land they will flee
3. sentence🔊 וְהָיָה֙ כִּצְבִ֣י מֻדָּ֔ח וּכְצֹ֖אן וְאֵ֣ין מְקַבֵּ֑ץ אִ֤ישׁ אֶל־עַמּוֹ֙ יִפְנ֔וּ וְאִ֥ישׁ אֶל־אַרְצ֖וֹ יָנֽוּסוּ׃

   ve-ha-YA kits-vi mu-DAKH u-khe-TSON ve-EN me-ka-BETS ISH el-A-mo yif-NU ve-ISH el-ar-TSO ya-NU-su

   and it will be like a gazelle driven away and like sheep and there is no one gathering a man to his people they will turn and each man to his land they will flee

Exegesis

The imagery then resolves into human behavior through a distributive pattern: ish el-ammo yifnu {אִישׁ אֶל־עַמּוֹ֙ יִפְנ֔וּ | ʾîš ʾel-ʿammô yipnû} and ve-ish el-artzo yanusu {וְאִ֥ישׁ אֶל־אַרְצ֖וֹ יָנֽוּסוּ | wə-ʾîš ʾel-ʾarṣô yānûsû}.

Although ish {אִישׁ | ʾîš} is singular, the following plural imperfects yifnu {יִפְנ֔וּ | yipnû} and yanusu {יָנֽוּסוּ | yānûsû} express a collective reaction: individuals act in the same way. The parallel prepositional goals “to his people” and “to his land” intensify the sense of dispersal and retreat, moving from reorientation (turning) to urgent escape (fleeing).