אִ֑ישׁ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 אִ֑ישׁ

   ISH

   a man
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 עַֽד־כִּכַּ֫ר לָ֥חֶם וְאֵ֥שֶׁת אִ֑ישׁ

   AD-ki-KAR la-KHEM ve-E-shet ISH

   as far as a round loaf of bread and a wife of a man
3. clause🔊 כִּ֤י בְעַד־אִשָּׁ֥ה זוֹנָ֗ה עַֽד־כִּכַּ֫ר לָ֥חֶם וְאֵ֥שֶׁת אִ֑ישׁ

   KI be-AD-I-SHA zo-NA AD-ki-KAR la-KHEM ve-E-shet ISH

   for in exchange for a woman a prostitute as far as a round loaf of bread and a wife of a man
4. sentence🔊 כִּ֤י בְעַד־אִשָּׁ֥ה זוֹנָ֗ה עַֽד־כִּכַּ֫ר לָ֥חֶם וְאֵ֥שֶׁת אִ֑ישׁ נֶ֖פֶשׁ יְקָרָ֣ה תָצֽוּד׃

   KI be-AD-I-SHA zo-NA AD-ki-KAR la-KHEM ve-E-shet ISH NE-fesh ye-ka-RA ta-TSUD

   for in exchange for a woman a prostitute as far as a round loaf of bread and a wife of a man a life precious she hunts

Exegesis

In the second clause, the coordination ve-eshet ish {וְאֵשֶׁת אִישׁ | wə-ʼê-šeṯ ʼîš} parallels the structure, and nefesh yekarah {נֶפֶשׁ יְקָרָה | nə-p̄e-š yə-qā-râh} highlights the valuable life that taṣûḏ {תָצֽוּד | ṭa-ṣûḏ} ‘she hunts’, creating a rhetorical juxtaposition between deprivation and predation.

Root and etymology

Root🔊 א־י־שAleph–Yod–Shin

“man, individual”

• 🔊 אִישִׁיʾîšîmy husbandHosea 2:16