וַיֶּ֤פֶן

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 וַיֶּ֤פֶן

   va-ye-FEN

   and he turned
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 וַיֶּ֤פֶן זָנָב֙

   va-ye-FEN za-NAV

   and he turned a tail
3. clause🔊 וַיִּקַּ֣ח לַפִּדִ֗ים וַיֶּ֤פֶן זָנָב֙ אֶל־זָנָ֔ב וַיָּ֨שֶׂם לַפִּ֥יד אֶחָ֛ד בֵּין־שְׁנֵ֥י הַזְּנָב֖וֹת בַּתָּֽוֶךְ׃

   va-yik-KAKH la-pi-DIM va-ye-FEN za-NAV el-za-NAV va-ya-SEM la-PID e-KHAD BEN-she-NE ha-ze-na-VOT ba-ta-VEKH

   and he took torches and he turned a tail to a tail and he put a torch one between two the tails in the midst
4. sentence🔊 וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ שִׁמְשׁ֔וֹן וַיִּלְכֹּ֖ד שְׁלֹשׁ־מֵא֣וֹת שׁוּעָלִ֑ים וַיִּקַּ֣ח לַפִּדִ֗ים וַיֶּ֤פֶן זָנָב֙ אֶל־זָנָ֔ב וַיָּ֨שֶׂם לַפִּ֥יד אֶחָ֛ד בֵּין־שְׁנֵ֥י הַזְּנָב֖וֹת בַּתָּֽוֶךְ׃

   va-ye-LEKH shim-sHON va-yil-KOD she-LOSH-me-OT shu-a-LIM va-yik-KAKH la-pi-DIM va-ye-FEN za-NAV el-za-NAV va-ya-SEM la-PID e-KHAD BEN-she-NE ha-ze-na-VOT ba-ta-VEKH

   and he went Samson and he caught three-hundreds foxes and he took torches and he turned a tail to a tail and he put a torch one between two the tails in the midst

Exegesis

The narrative is driven by a sequence of five vav-consecutive verbs: vayelekh {וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ | wayye-lēḵ} ‘and he went’, vayilkōḏ {וַיִּלְכֹּ֖ד | wayyilkōḏ} ‘and he caught’, wayyikkaḥ {וַיִּקַּ֣ח | wayyikkaḥ} ‘and he took’, wayye-pen {וַיֶּ֤פֶן | wayye-pen} ‘and he turned’, and wayyāsem {וַיָּ֨שֶׂם | wayyāsem} ‘and he placed’.