וַֽ/יִּמְצָאֵ֞/ם
𐤅/𐤉𐤌𐤑𐤀/𐤌
vayimetsaem
he found them
a primitive root; properly, to come forth to, i.e. appear or exist; transitively, to attain, i.e. find or acquire; figuratively, to occur, meet or be present; [phrase] be able, befall, being, catch, [idiom] certainly, (cause to) come (on, to, to hand), deliver, be enough (cause to) find(-ing, occasion, out), get (hold upon), [idiom] have (here), be here, hit, be left, light (up-) on, meet (with), [idiom] occasion serve, (be) present, ready, speed, suffice, take hold on.
Daniel 1:20 · Word #9
Lexicon H4672
| Lemma | מָצָא |
| Lemma (Paleo) | 𐤌𐤑𐤀 |
| Transliteration | mâtsâʼ |
| Strong's | H4672 |
| In-context | he found them |
Morphology HC/Vqw3ms/Sp3mp
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state |
| Binyan | q — Qal — Simple active |
| Conjugation | w — Sequential Imperfect — Imperfect with waw-consecutive, narrating past events |
| Person | 3 — 3rd person — Third person ("he/she/they") |
| Gender | m — Masculine — Masculine |
| Number | s — Singular — Singular |
SIBI-P1 H4672-97
and he came upon them
| Root | מצא (m-ṣ-ʾ) |
| Core Meanings | to find, to encounter, to attain, to come upon, to discover |
| Semantic Range | to find, discover, encounter, attain, obtain, experience, come upon, befall |
| Conceptual Significance | מצא often marks pivotal encounters in biblical narrative—moments of discovery, divine providence, or decisive meeting. It can signify not only human searching but also the unfolding of events as they are encountered within YHWH’s sovereign ordering of circumstances. |
| Morphological Notes | Conjunction וַ + Qal wayyiqtol 3ms of מצא with 3mp pronominal suffix; narrative preterite form meaning "and he found/came upon them." |
| Rendering Rationale | The Qal wayyiqtol 3rd masculine singular form indicates a completed past action by "he," with a 3rd masculine plural object suffix "them." Rendering it as "and he came upon them" preserves the root sense of encountering or coming upon something, rather than merely discovering it, while accurately reflecting the masculine singular subject and masculine plural object. |
AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)
Words from Root מצא (to find, to encounter, to attain, to come upon, to discover)
| SILEX Code | Transliteration | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
H4672-01 |
behimatseo | in his being found |
H4672-02 |
bemotsaakhem | in your finding |
H4672-03 |
emetsa | I find / I come upon |
Word Usage (457 occurrences of H4672)
| Location | Form | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis 2:20 | מָצָ֥א | matsa | was found |
| Genesis 4:14 | מֹצְאִ֖/י | motsei | finds me |
| Genesis 4:15 | מֹצְאֽ/וֹ | motseo | finding him |