לֹא־יֵ֣שְׁבוּ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 לֹא־יֵ֣שְׁבוּ

   lo-YE-she-vu

   not they dwelt in
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 בָּ֭תִּים לֹא־יֵ֣שְׁבוּ לָ֑מוֹ

   ba-TIM lo-YE-she-vu LA-mo

   houses not they dwelt in in them or for them
3. clause🔊 וַיִּשְׁכּ֤וֹן עָ֘רִ֤ים נִכְחָד֗וֹת בָּ֭תִּים לֹא־יֵ֣שְׁבוּ לָ֑מוֹ

   va-yish-KON A-rim ni-khe-KHA-dot ba-TIM lo-YE-she-vu LA-mo

   and he dwelt cities that were wiped out or destroyed houses not they dwelt in in them or for them
4. sentence🔊 וַיִּשְׁכּ֤וֹן עָ֘רִ֤ים נִכְחָד֗וֹת בָּ֭תִּים לֹא־יֵ֣שְׁבוּ לָ֑מוֹ אֲשֶׁ֖ר הִתְעַתְּד֣וּ לְגַלִּֽים׃

   va-yish-KON A-rim ni-khe-KHA-dot ba-TIM lo-YE-she-vu LA-mo a-SHER hit-a-te-DU le-gal-LIM

   and he dwelt cities that were wiped out or destroyed houses not they dwelt in in them or for them which they were prepared for heaps

Exegesis

A second, parallel complement follows: bāttîm {בָּ֭תִּים | bāttîm} ‘houses,’ expanded by a negated verbal clause lōʾ-yēšəḇû lāmô {לֹא־יֵ֣שְׁבוּ לָ֑מוֹ | lōʾ-yēšəḇû lāmô}, literally ‘they do not dwell for them,’ using an impersonal plural ‘they dwell’ to convey ‘no one lives,’ while lāmô adds a dative nuance of ‘for them/there’ that reinforces the absence of suitable inhabitants.

Root and etymology

consonants🔊 שׂ־י־בSin–Yod–Bet

“be gray, grow old”

• 🔊 שֵיבָהseivahgray hair, old ageLeviticus 19:32