וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלִיָּ֨הוּ֙ אֶל־הָעָ֔ם אֲנִ֞י נֹותַ֧רְתִּי נָבִ֛יא לַיהוָ֖ה לְבַדִּ֑י וּנְבִיאֵ֣י הַבַּ֔עַל אַרְבַּע־מֵאֹ֥ות וַחֲמִשִּׁ֖ים אִֽישׁ׃
And Eliyahu said to the people, “I, I alone am left a prophet of YHWH, but the prophets of the Baʿal are four hundred and fifty men.
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3ms; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Narrative speech marker.
- אֵלִיָּ֨הוּ (Eliyahu) – Root: אליהו (Eliyahu); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Eliyahu”; Notes: Subject of the speech.
- אֶל־הָעָ֔ם (el-ha-ʿam) – Root: עם (ʿam); Form: Preposition + definite noun; Translation: “to the people”; Notes: The audience addressed.
- אֲנִ֞י (ani) – Root: אני (ʾani); Form: Independent pronoun 1cs; Translation: “I”; Notes: First-person emphasis.
- נֹותַ֧רְתִּי (notarti) – Root: יתר (yatar); Form: Nifal perfect 1cs; Translation: “I have been left”; Notes: Passive-reflexive form, emphasizing isolation.
- נָבִ֛יא (navi) – Root: נבא (navaʾ); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “a prophet”; Notes: Eliyahu identifies himself as remaining faithful prophet.
- לַיהוָ֖ה (la-YHWH) – Root: יהוה (YHWH); Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “for YHWH”; Notes: Denotes allegiance and service.
- לְבַדִּ֑י (levaddi) – Root: בדד (badad); Form: Preposition + noun with 1cs suffix; Translation: “alone”; Notes: Emphasizes Eliyahu’s solitude.
- וּנְבִיאֵ֣י (u-neviʾei) – Root: נבא (navaʾ); Form: Conjunction + construct plural noun; Translation: “but the prophets of”; Notes: Introduces contrast.
- הַבַּ֔עַל (ha-Baʿal) – Root: בעל (Baʿal); Form: Definite noun; Translation: “the Baʿal”; Notes: Refers to the Canaanite deity.
- אַרְבַּע־מֵאֹ֥ות (arbaʿ-meʾot) – Root: ארבע (arbaʿ), מאה (meʾah); Form: Numeral (construct form); Translation: “four hundred”; Notes: Part of the count of false prophets.
- וַחֲמִשִּׁ֖ים (va-ḥamishim) – Root: חמש (ḥamesh); Form: Conjunction + numeral; Translation: “and fifty”; Notes: Total of 450.
- אִֽישׁ (ish) – Root: איש (ʾish); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “men”; Notes: Often used to designate individuals within a group.