a.yil denotes a leading person or group, whether among a land’s leading men, regional chiefs, or nations.

The term identifies prominent leaders or leading groups: plural construct forms occur for chiefs and leading men, while the singular construct form identifies a leader of nations.

1. Leading men, chiefs, and a leader of nations · dominant

   The plural construct form occurs with groups described in the verse as Edom’s chiefs in Exodus 15:15, the land’s leading men taken captive in 2 Kings 24:15, and the leaders of the land taken in Ezekiel 17:13. The singular construct form in Ezekiel 31:11 stands in the clause about delivery into the hand of a leader of the nations.

   2 Kings 24:15Exodus 15:15Ezekiel 17:13Ezekiel 31:11

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the plural occurrences as “chiefs,” “leading men,” and “leaders,” and the singular occurrence as “a leader of the nations.” These renderings confirm the clauses’ leadership setting rather than establish separate lexical senses.