וְ/נִלְחֲמ֥וּ
𐤅/𐤍𐤋𐤇𐤌𐤅
lâcham
and they will fight
To engage in battle or wage war; to fight in armed conflict, either as an individual or a group. In rarer contexts, the verb can connote struggle, contend, or engage in conflict of a non-military nature. The sense of 'feed on' or 'devour' is not attested in Biblical Hebrew for this root, and likely arises from confusion with similar roots.
Isaiah 19:2 · Word #4
Lexicon H3898
| Lemma | לָחַם |
| Lemma (Paleo) | 𐤋𐤇𐤌 |
| Transliteration | lâcham |
| Strong's | H3898 |
| Definition | To engage in battle or wage war; to fight in armed conflict, either as an individual or a group. In rarer contexts, the verb can connote struggle, contend, or engage in conflict of a non-military nature. The sense of 'feed on' or 'devour' is not attested in Biblical Hebrew for this root, and likely arises from confusion with similar roots. |
Morphology HC/VNq3cp
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state |
| Binyan | N — Niphal — Simple passive or reflexive |
| Conjugation | q — Sequential Perfect — Perfect with waw-consecutive, continuing a narrative |
| Person | 3 — 3rd person — Third person ("he/she/they") |
| Gender | c — Common — Common (both genders) |
| Number | p — Plural — Plural |
Common Translation
| Phrase | and they will fight |
SIBI-P1 Translation H3898-37
and they waged war
| Morphological Notes | Verb; Niphal stem; sequential perfect (vav-consecutive); 3rd person common plural. |
| Rendering Rationale | The Niphal stem of לחם functions with a middle/passive nuance, commonly conveying engaging oneself in battle. The 3rd person common plural sequential perfect with prefixed conjunction is reflected by "and they waged war," preserving both plurality and the narrative sequence form. |
View full lexicon entry for H3898 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
and they will fight
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | P1 'and they waged war' is past tense; the Hebrew verb is imperfect, indicating future. The context is future/prophetic. 'And they will fight' is the correct verbal aspect. |