וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר אֲלֵהֶם֙ אֲבִיהֶ֔ם אֵֽי־זֶ֥ה הַדֶּ֖רֶךְ הָלָ֑ךְ וַיִּרְא֣וּ בָנָ֗יו אֶת־הַדֶּ֨רֶךְ֙ אֲשֶׁ֤ר הָלַךְ֙ אִ֣ישׁ הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֖א מִיהוּדָֽה׃
And their father spoke to them, “Which is the way he went?” And his sons saw the way which the man of God had gone, who came from Yehuda.
Morphology
- וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר (vayedabber) – Root: דבר; Form: Piel wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he spoke”; Notes: Narrative continuation in Piel for emphasis.
- אֲלֵהֶם֙ (alehem) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “to them”; Notes: Refers to his sons.
- אֲבִיהֶ֔ם (avihem) – Root: אב; Form: Noun, masculine singular with 3rd person plural suffix; Translation: “their father”; Notes: Subject of the verb “spoke.”
- אֵֽי־זֶ֥ה (ei-zeh) – Root: אי + זה; Form: Interrogative particle + demonstrative adjective; Translation: “Which”; Notes: Introduces a question.
- הַדֶּ֖רֶךְ (haderekh) – Root: דרך; Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the way”; Notes: The path being referred to.
- הָלָ֑ךְ (halakh) – Root: הלך; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “he went”; Notes: Refers to past completed action.
- וַיִּרְא֣וּ (vayyirʾu) – Root: ראה; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “And they saw”; Notes: Refers to the sons’ observation.
- בָנָ֗יו (banav) – Root: בן; Form: Noun, masculine plural with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “his sons”; Notes: Subject of the verb “saw.”
- אֶת־הַדֶּ֨רֶךְ֙ (et-haderekh) – Root: דרך; Form: Accusative marker + noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the way”; Notes: Object of the verb “saw.”
- אֲשֶׁ֤ר (asher) – Root: אשר; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “which”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause modifying “way.”
- הָלַךְ֙ (halakh) – Root: הלך; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “he went”; Notes: Refers back to the man of God.
- אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים (ish haʾElohim) – Root: איש + אלהים; Form: Construct noun + definite noun; Translation: “the man of God”; Notes: Standard prophetic title.
- אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֖א (asher-ba) – Root: בוא; Form: Relative pronoun + Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “who came”; Notes: Adds information about the origin of the man.
- מִיהוּדָֽה (mi-Yehudah) – Root: יהודה; Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “from Yehudah”; Notes: Region in southern Yisraʾel.