וְשָׁ֤ם

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 וְשָׁ֤ם

   ve-SHAM

   and there
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 וְשָׁ֤ם אֲחִימַן֙

   ve-SHAM a-khi-MAN

   and there Ahiman
3. clause🔊 וַיַּעֲל֣וּ בַנֶּגֶב֮ וַיָּבֹ֣א עַד־חֶבְרוֹן֒ וְשָׁ֤ם אֲחִימַן֙ שֵׁשַׁ֣י וְתַלְמַ֔י יְלִידֵ֖י הָעֲנָ֑ק

   va-ya-a-LU va-NE-gev va-ya-VO ad-KHEV-ron ve-SHAM a-khi-MAN she-SHAI ve-tal-MAI ye-li-DEI ha-a-NAK

   And they went up in the Negeb and he came to Hebron and there Ahiman Sheshai and Talmai descendants of Anak
4. sentence🔊 וַיַּעֲל֣וּ בַנֶּגֶב֮ וַיָּבֹ֣א עַד־חֶבְרוֹן֒ וְשָׁ֤ם אֲחִימַן֙ שֵׁשַׁ֣י וְתַלְמַ֔י יְלִידֵ֖י הָעֲנָ֑ק וְחֶבְר֗וֹן שֶׁ֤בַע שָׁנִים֙ נִבְנְתָ֔ה לִפְנֵ֖י צֹ֥עַן מִצְרָֽיִם׃

   va-ya-a-LU va-NE-gev va-ya-VO ad-KHEV-ron ve-SHAM a-khi-MAN she-SHAI ve-tal-MAI ye-li-DEI ha-a-NAK ve-khev-RON she-VA sha-NIM niv-ne-TA lif-NEI tso-AN mits-RA-yim

   And they went up in the Negeb and he came to Hebron and there Ahiman Sheshai and Talmai descendants of Anak and Hebron seven years had been built before Zoan of Egypt

Exegesis

The conjunction wə-šām {וְשָׁ֤ם | wə-šām} ‘and there’ introduces the construct chain yᵉ-lî-ḏê hā-ʿă-nāq {יְלִידֵ֖י הָעֲנָ֑ק | yᵉ-lî-ḏê hā-ʿă-nāq} ‘offspring of the Anak’, emphasizing lineage before shifting to the clause wə-ḥe-vrôn še-vāʿ šā-nîm nibbə-nə-ṯā lifnê ṣō-ʿan miṣrā-yim, where the Niphal perfect verb nibbə-nə-ṯā ‘had been built’ and the temporal modifier šē-vāʿ šā-nîm lifnê ṣō-ʿan ‘seven years before Zoan’ locate Hebron’s construction relative to Egypt. The fronting of the Anak lineage intensifies the contrast between the scouting party’s discovery and the city’s ancient origin.