נִלְחָ֔מוּ
𐤍𐤋𐤇𐤌𐤅
lâcham
they fought
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.
Judges 5:19 · Word #3
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 HVNp3cp
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state |
| Binyan | N — Niphal — Simple passive or reflexive |
| Conjugation | p — Perfect — Completed action |
| Person | 3 — 3rd person — Third person ("he/she/they") |
| Gender | c — Common — Common (both genders) |
| Number | p — Plural — Plural |
Common Translation
| Phrase | they fought |
SIBI-P1 Translation H3898-18
they engaged in battle
| Morphological Notes | Verb; Niphal stem (middle/reflexive); perfect; 3rd person common plural. |
| Rendering Rationale | The Niphal perfect 3rd person common plural form conveys a completed action performed by a plural subject, with a reflexive/middle sense typical of this root. "They engaged in battle" reflects both the plural morphology and the root’s core meaning of waging war. |
View full lexicon entry for H3898 →
SILEX v2