Biblical Hebrew: וַיִּגְבַּהּ֙ מִכׇּל־הָעָ֔ם מִשִּׁכְמ֖וֹ וָמָֽעְלָה

[zaw]

Hi,

In the Bible it says וַיָּרֻ֙צוּ֙ וַיִּקָּחֻ֣הוּ מִשָּׁ֔ם וַיִּתְיַצֵּ֖ב בְּת֣וֹךְ הָעָ֑ם וַיִּגְבַּהּ֙ מִכׇּל־הָעָ֔ם מִשִּׁכְמ֖וֹ וָמָֽעְלָה׃

Why is there a qames under the ו in וָמָֽעְלָה?

I think the meaning is

And they ran and took him from there, and he stationed himself in the midst of the people, and he became taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.

Toda raba

 

[Drink]

It's the pausal form.

 

[Ali Smith]

Hi,

In the Bible it says וַיָּרֻ֙צוּ֙ וַיִּקָּחֻ֣הוּ מִשָּׁ֔ם וַיִּתְיַצֵּ֖ב בְּת֣וֹךְ הָעָ֑ם וַיִּגְבַּהּ֙ מִכׇּל־הָעָ֔ם מִשִּׁכְמ֖וֹ וָמָֽעְלָה׃

Why is there a qames under the ו in וָמָֽעְלָה?

I think the meaning is

And they ran and took him from there, and he stationed himself in the midst of the people, and he became taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.

Toda raba

I would query this interpretation: Saul did not start growing taller when the people took him and he stood in their midst—it was remarked at that point, not accomplished—so this should be another example of גבה in wayyiqtol expressing a state, not an event.

 

[radagasty]

It's the pausal form.

Hmm... the qamets under the מ is certainly due to the pausal position, but that under the ו, which zaw was asking about, indicates IMHO a close connection with what came before: מִשִּׁכְמוֹ וָמָֽעְלָה ‘from his shoulder and up’.

 

[Drink]

Oh right, I didn't read carefully enough, whoops. I believe the ו takes a kamatz whenever the following word is stressed on the first syllable and has a disjunctive accent, and this happens to coincide in most cases with having a close relationship to what came before it.