Comentários de Citação sobre Juízes 15:4

He magnified. The yud is vowelized with a small patach [=segol], which is an expression of increasing others, [as in,] “And the people increased וַיִּרֶב and were very mighty,”¹²Shemos 1:20. See Rashi there on וייטב. is vowelized [under the yud] with a chirik, which is an expression meaning that he himself increased. Similarly, every word whose radical ends with a hei, e.g., to turn פָּנָה, to go astray זָנָה, to weep בָּכָה, are vowelized in that manner when the hei is missing, when it speaks of itself it is vowelized with a chirik, e.g., “And Pharaoh turned.”¹³Shemos 17:23. But when it speaks of others it is vowelized with a small patach [=segol], e.g., “and he turned [the foxes] tail to tail,”¹⁴Shoftim 15:4. [and] “and Yehudah went into exile from his land,”¹⁵II Melochim 25:21. Here, ויגל is vowelized with a chirik. [and] “and the king of Bavel exiled Yisroel into Assyria.”¹⁶Ibid., 18:11.

And exiled Yisroel. [ויגל is the same as] ויגלה [=and he exiled] Yisroel. This is the rule for every word whose verb root [ends] with a `ה', e.g., פנה[=to face], בנה [=to build], גלה [=to go into exile], זנה [=to commit adultery], רבה [=to multiply]; when one comes to add a prefix to the word with `ו ' or a `י', if the word applies to the doer, the `י' will be voweled with a “chirik,” e.g., “And he built [=ויבן] an altar there;”¹²Bereishis 12:7. ”And Moshe turned [=ויפן] and descended;”¹³Shemos 32:15. ”And Yisroel was exiled [=ויגל] off its land;”¹⁴Below 25:21. ”And she too went and committed whoredom[=ותזן];”¹⁵Yirmiyahu 3:8. ”And the people increased [=וירב] and became very strong.”¹⁶Shemos 1:20. If however, one is talking in the causative conjugation, the `י' will be voweled with a “segol,” e.g., “And turned [=ויפן] tail to tail;”¹⁷Shoftim 15:4. ”And exiled [=ויגל] the Israelites to Ashur;”¹⁸Below, 18:11. ”And he caused the dwellers of Yerusholayim to go astray [=ויזן];”¹⁹II Divrei Hayomim 21:11. ”And He increased [=וירב] among the people of Yehudah grief and lamentation.”²⁰Eichah 2:5.

וַיֵּיטָב means HE DID GOOD TO THEM. — The following is the difference between certain forms in a word (verb) whose root is two letters when one prefixes ו and י to them: when it intends to express the meaning “and he caused someone or something to do a particular action” (i. e. the 3rd masc. sing, imperf. Hiphil with Vau conversive), the י has the vowel Tzéré which is what we call Kametz Katan, as, (in this verse) “And God dealt well (וַיֶּיטָב) with the midwives” (to Rashi the root it טב; we take it as יטב); (Lamentations 2:5) “וַיָרָב for the daughter of Judah [mourning]” i. e. He increased (made great) the mourning; (root רֹב; we take it as רבה). Similarly (II Chronicles 36:20) “וַיָּגָל the remnant” which occurs in connection with Nebuzaradon, i. e. he caused the remnant to be exiled; (Judges 15:4) וַיָּפָן tail to tail”, i. e. he turned the tails one towards the other (more lit., he caused one tail to turn to the other) — all these express the meaning “he caused others to do something” (i. e. they are of the Hiphil conjugation). When, however, it speaks in the sense of “and he did something” (3rd masc. sing, imperf. Kal with Vau conv.), the י has the vowel Chirik. For example, (Leviticus 10:20) “וַיִיטַב in his eyes” — this means, “it was good”. Similarly (in this verse) the people”, i. e. the people became many; (2 Kings 25:21) “וַיִגָל Judah”, i. e. Judah became an exile; (2:12) “וַיִפֵן this way and that way”, i. e. he turned this way and that way. Do not answer me (do not raise an objection) by quoting the words וַיֵּלֶךְ and וַיֵּשֶׁב and וַיַרֶד and וַיֵּצֵא (saying that these verbal forms also have ו and י prefixed and the י has the vowel Tzéré and yet they are Kal, not Hiphil forms), because these are not of the same class of verbs as those above-mentioned, for the י is part of the root in them — in יֵלֵךְ and יֵשֵׁב and יֵרֵד and יֵצֵא, the י is a third root letter in each of these.