2 Samuel 5:18

Paleo Hebrew Niqqud

RBT Hebrew Interlinear:

ופלשתים וּפְלִשְׁתּים

and Wanderers ("Philistines")

STRONGS

Strong's Lexicon

ו

wə

Definition

and

Root

From H8505; a prefix

Exhaustive

The conjunctive ו is not merely a fixed coordinator with a stable semantic value (“and/but/or/then”). Its core function is linkage, not meaning. It binds units into a single discourse field—phrases, clauses, or whole scenes—while leaving the logical relation to be inferred from aspect, word order, genre, and context.

So the variability in translation (“and / but / or / even / then”) is not polyvalence in the particle; it is underspecification by design. The language expects the reader/hearer to perceive the relation rather than have it encoded.

Crucially, conjunctive ו does not imply temporal sequence. It implies continuity of attention. Think of it as:
- “this belongs with what precedes,”
- “remain within the same frame,”
“do not reset the discourse.”
This is why Hebrew can chain dozens of clauses with ו without subordination or explicit logic markers. The text advances by accumulation, not by branching syntactic trees. Meaning arises from the interaction:
- Aspect (qatal / yiqtol / participle),
- Position (fronted elements, resumptive nouns),
- Genre (law, narrative, oracle),
- Context (who speaks, to whom).
The ו simply keeps the circuit closed so these cues can operate together. Remove tense assumptions, and the system becomes coherent.

Source: The Aonic Nature of Biblical Hebrew Prepositions

פלשת

Pᵉlesheth

Definition

Pelesheth, a region of Syria

Root

from H6428 (פלש); rolling, i.e. migratory;

Exhaustive

from פלש; rolling, i.e. migratory; Pelesheth, a region of Syria; Palestina, Palestine, Philistia, Philistines.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H6429

פלשתי

Pᵉlishtîy

Definition

a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth

Root

patrial from H6429 (פלשת);

Exhaustive

patrial from פלשת; a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth; Philistine.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H6430

Fürst

Fürst Lexicon

פְּלַשְׁתִּים

noun proper • Consonantal / Medium • Page 1175

the Philistine Sea, i. e. the Mediterranean (Ex. 23, 31).

Matched via consonantal key only

Gesenius

Gesenius Lexicon

פְּלֶשֶׁת

f. proper name • Page 545

Philistia, the proper name of a country in the southwestern part of Palestine. References: Gen. 10:14, Ex. 15:14, Is. 14:28.

Conjunction, Noun gentilic masculine plural absolute

LXX: ἀλλοφύλων ἀλλόφυλοι ἀλλοφύλουσ '' φυλιστιιμ

LXX Usage Statistics

H6429:

ἀλλοφύλων 118× (41.1%)

ἀλλόφυλοι 73× (24.7%)

ἀλλοφύλουσ 27× (8.7%)

'' 17× (5.6%)

φυλιστιιμ 11× (3.9%)

ἀλλοφύλοισ 10× (2.7%)

ἀλλόφυλοσ 9× (2.9%)

ἀλλόφυλον 7× (2.3%)

ἀλλόφυλοι 6× (2.2%)

ἀλλοφύλου 6× (2.0%)

H6430:

No stats available

באו בָּאוּ

come

STRONGS

Strong's Lexicon

בוא

bôwʼ

Definition

to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)

Root

a primitive root;

Exhaustive

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H935

Fürst

Fürst Lexicon

בּוֹא

verb • Strongs_Numbers • Page 224

1. To go, to wander; usually with announcing the limit of one's going. 2. To arrive, to come at (distinguished from הָלַךְ in expressing the limit of going). In this sense metaphorically: a) to be born, to appear; b) to reach to one, to be equal to him; c) to reach inanimate things; d) to come upon, to fall upon (suddenly), e.g., of an enemy or calamity; e) to come to pass, to be fulfilled (of wishes, promises); f) of inanimate things, to come near; g) applied to time; h) with the preposition בְּ, to come with somewhat, i.e., to bring.

בּוֹא

verb • Root בוא • Strongs_Numbers • Page 225

To go in, to enter, to come; to arrive; to go down (of the sun).

בּוֹא

verb • Root בוא • Strongs_Numbers • Page 755

to come to

Gesenius

Gesenius Lexicon

בּוֹא

verb • Page 88

1. to go or come in, to enter. Gen. 6:18. Frequently opposed to יָצָא. 2. to lie with a woman, inire feminam. Gen. 16:2. 3. spoken of the sun, to set, go down (below the horizon). Gen. 15:17. 28:11.

בּוֹא

verb • Page 89

To go in, to enter, to come. Includes many specific idioms: to conduct oneself (Josh. 15:18); to come in as revenue (1 K. 10:14); to enter into a covenant (2 Chr. 15:12); to come upon someone or befall them (Lam. 1:10); to come to pass or be fulfilled (Prov. 13:12); to bring something (with ב, Ps. 66:13); to obtain (Ps. 69:28). Hiphil: to bring in, carry in, or lead (2 Sam. 9:10). Hophal: passive (Lev. 10:18).

Verb Qal perfect third person common plural

LXX:

LXX Usage Statistics

H0935:

No stats available

וינטשו וַיִּנָּטְשׁוּ

None

STRONGS

Strong's Lexicon

ו

wāw

Definition

sequential 'and'

Root

From H8505; a prefix

Exhaustive

Vav Conversive/Consecutive: The category “vav conversive / vav consecutive” is not an ancient grammatical datum; it is a modern explanatory construct, developed by early Hebraists to force Biblical Hebrew into a Latin/chronological tense model that it simply does not share.

The notion arose in early modern grammar (17th–19th c.) when scholars assumed:
- verbs must encode tense,
- narratives must advance by past → present → future,
- therefore Hebrew forms that “don’t behave” must be converted.

Source: The Aonic Nature of Biblical Hebrew Prepositions

נטש

nâṭash

Definition

properly, to pound, i.e. smite; by implication (as if beating out, and thus expanding) to disperse; also, to thrust off, down, out or upon (inclusively, reject, let alone, permit, remit, etc.)

Root

a primitive root;

Exhaustive

a primitive root; properly, to pound, i.e. smite; by implication (as if beating out, and thus expanding) to disperse; also, to thrust off, down, out or upon (inclusively, reject, let alone, permit, remit, etc.); cast off, drawn, let fall, forsake, join (battle), leave (off), lie still, loose, spread (self) abroad, stretch out, suffer.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H5203

Fürst

Fürst Lexicon

נָטַשׁ

verb • Root נטש • Strongs / High • Page 967

1. To stretch or extend, to spread, to widen. 2. To spread out, to scatter about. 3. Metaphorically: to scatter afar, disperse, give up, reject, remit.

נָטַשׁ

passive participle • Root נטש • Strongs / High • Page 967

Same as לָטַשׁ, to sharpen, to point, to whet.

Gesenius

Gesenius Lexicon

נָטַשׁ

verb • Root נטש • Page 441

to leave, forsake. 1. to forsake, reject; spoken of Jehovah in reference to his people, Judg. 6:13. 1 Sam. 12:22. 2. to leave under the care of any one. 1 Sam. 17:20. 3. to let go, give up as lost. 1 Sam. 10:2. 4. to let lie without using (land in Sabbatical year). Ex. 23:11. 5. to remit (a debt). Neh. 10:32. 6. to leave off (contention). Prov. 17:14. 7. to suffer, allow. Gen. 31:28. 8. to throw down, cast away. Ezek. 29:5. 9. to spread out, scatter. 1 Sam. 30:16. 10. to draw out (a sword). Is. 21:15.

conjunctive, Verb Niphal sequential imperfect third person masculine plural

LXX: ἀπώσατο '' ἀπώσεται ἀπώσῃ κατέβαλον

LXX Usage Statistics

H5203:

ἀπώσατο 3× (7.0%)

'' 3× (6.6%)

ἀπώσεται 2× (5.2%)

ἀπώσῃ 2× (5.2%)

κατέβαλον 2× (4.4%)

ἡμᾶσ 2× (4.4%)

συνέπεσαν 2× (4.4%)

בעמק בְּעֵמֶק

in the valley

STRONGS

Strong's Lexicon

ב

bə

Definition

in, by

Root

A primitive particle; a prefix

Exhaustive

(beth) — in / within / by means of

Core value: interiority, enclosure, participation

ב does not primarily mean “in time” (“when”) or even “in space.” It marks being inside a domain, whether that domain is:
- spatial (house, land),
- conceptual (wisdom, covenant),
- modal (strength, fear),
- instrumental (by means of).
Aonically, ב marks immersion.
not “when X happened” but “within the state or field of X.”
This is why ב־יום does not need to mean “on the day (chronological)” but “within the day-realm / condition”.

Source: The Aonic Nature of Biblical Hebrew Prepositions

עמק

ʻêmeq

Definition

a vale (i.e. broad depression)

Root

from H6009 (עמק);

Exhaustive

from עמק; a vale (i.e. broad depression); dale, vale, valley (often used as a part of proper names). See also בית העמק.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H6010

Fürst

Fürst Lexicon

עֵמֶק

noun masculine • Root עמק • Strongs / High • Page 1107

Plantations of trees, for flowers and for sowing on; a furrowed deep place; a plain; a valley; also for drawing up an army in battle. Poetic periphrasis for Jerusalem.

Gesenius

Gesenius Lexicon

עֵמֶק

noun masculine • Root עמק • Page 515

1. a valley, liter. a low plain, as a cultivated place, (Job 39: 10. Ps. 65: 14. Cant. 2: 1.) as a place for combat (Job 39: 21). Applied to various specific valleys: עֵמֶק יִזְרְעֶאל, עֵמֶק הַמֶּלֶךְ etc. Gen. 14: 17. 2 Sam. 18: 18. 2. an inhabitant of the valley, i. q. אִישׁ הָעֵמֶק. 1 Chr. 12: 15.

Preposition, Noun common both singular construct

LXX: κοιλάδι κοιλάδα φάραγγα --- κοιλάδων

LXX Usage Statistics

H6010:

κοιλάδι 20× (26.8%)

κοιλάδα 11× (15.8%)

φάραγγα 3× (4.8%)

--- 2× (3.7%)

κοιλάδων 2× (3.5%)

'' 2× (3.2%)

φάραγγι 2× (2.9%)

κοιλάδοσ 2× (2.9%)

κοιλὰσ 2× (2.9%)

ενακιμ 2× (2.8%)

רפאים רְפָאִים׃

None

STRONGS

Strong's Lexicon

רפא

râphâʼ

Definition

a giant

Root

or רפה; from H7495 (רפא) in the sense of invigorating;

Exhaustive

or רפה; from רפא in the sense of invigorating; a giant; giant, Rapha, Rephaim(-s). See also בית רפא.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H7497

Fürst

Fürst Lexicon

רָפָא

verb • Root רפא • Strongs / High • Page 755

to heal

רָפָא

verb • Root רפא • Strongs / High • Page 1351

I. Transitive: To bind about, to bind a wound, hence to put on a bandage, to heal, cure; generally to heal a wounded man; Figuratively: to bring into better circumstances, restore, make the land to bloom again, help, heal the wounds of a state, forgive, pardon, comfort.

רָפָא

verb intransitive • Root רפא • Strongs / High • Page 1351

II. Intransitive: To be meek, mild, calm, peaceful; to still, to calm, to bring to rest, to be mild, to flatter, to be calm, still, gracious, mild.

רָפָא

verb transitive • Root רפא • Strongs / High • Page 1351

III. Transitive: (Not used) To make to quake, to excite fear, applied to terror-raising forms, to giants, who are hence called רְפָאִים.

רָפָא

noun masculine • Root רפא • Strongs / High • Page 1351

Properly a fearful one; hence a giant (Rephaim); proper name of the founder of a race of giants belonging to the primitive inhabitants of Palestine (the Philistines).

Gesenius

Gesenius Lexicon

רָפָא

verb • Root רפא • Page 626

1. to mend, repair. 2. to cure, to heal (Gen. 50:2, 2 Chr. 16:12, Is. 6:10). 3. metaphorically to restore; e.g. a land, people (2 Chr. 7:14, Hos. 7:1, Ps. 30:3, Deut. 32:39, Jer. 17:14). 4. to forgive, pardon (2 Chr. 30:20, Jer. 3:22, Ps. 41:5). 5. to comfort (Job 13:4, Ps. 147:3). Includes Niph. (to be healed) and Pi. (to repair, to make wholesome).

Noun proper name masculine

LXX: ραφαϊν γιγάντων ραφα τιτάνων

LXX Usage Statistics

H7497b:

ραφαϊν 7× (28.7%)

γιγάντων 7× (28.0%)

ραφα 4× (14.7%)

τιτάνων 2× (7.8%)

RBT Translation:

No verse found

RBT Paraphrase:
No verse found

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And the rovers came and they will be dispersed in the valley of Rephaim.

LITV Translation:
And the Philistines came and were spread out in the Valley of the Giants.

Brenton Septuagint Translation:
And the Philistines came, and assembled in the Valley of the Giants.