לֹ֣א

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 לֹ֣א

   LO

   not
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 לֹ֣א יָדְע֔וּ

   LO ya-de-U

   not they knew
3. clause🔊 וְהֵם֙ לֹ֣א יָדְע֔וּ כִּֽי־נֹגַ֥עַת עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם הָרָעָֽה׃

   ve-HEM LO ya-de-U ki-no-GA-at a-le-HEM ha-ra-A

   but they not they knew that was touching upon them the evil
4. sentence🔊 וַיָּבֹאוּ֩ מִנֶּ֨גֶד לַגִּבְעָ֜ה עֲשֶׂרֶת֩ אֲלָפִ֨ים אִ֤ישׁ בָּחוּר֙ מִכָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְהַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה כָּבֵ֑דָה וְהֵם֙ לֹ֣א יָדְע֔וּ כִּֽי־נֹגַ֥עַת עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם הָרָעָֽה׃

   va-yo-VU mi-NE-ged la-giv-A a-se-RET a-la-FIM ISH ba-KHUR mi-kol-yis-ra-EL ve-ha-mil-kha-MA ka-ve-DA ve-HEM LO ya-de-U ki-no-GA-at a-le-HEM ha-ra-A

   and they came from opposite to Gibeah ten of thousands man chosen from all Israel and the battle was heavy but they not they knew that was touching upon them the evil

Exegesis

The clause we-hem lō yāḏə’ū {וְהֵם לֹא יָדְעוּ | we-hem lō yā-ḏə-’ū} ‘and they did not know’ introduces dramatic irony, leading into kī nōġa’āt ’ălêhem hā-rā’āh {כִּי־נֹגַעַת עֲלֵיהֶם הָרָעָה | kī nō-ġa-’āt ’ă-lê-hem hā-rā-’āh} ‘for disaster was approaching upon them’, where the participle conveys imminent threat. The formal translation preserves Hebrew word order for narrative tension, while the dynamic version smooths phrasing for readability.