וַיֹּ֖אמֶר מֶ֣ה חָטָ֑אתִי כִּֽי־אַתָּ֞ה נֹתֵ֧ן אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ֛ בְּיַד־אַחְאָ֖ב לַהֲמִיתֵֽנִי׃
And he said, “What have I sinned, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Aḥʾav to put me to death?”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֖אמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3ms; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: ʿOvadyahu speaking in protest.
- מֶ֣ה (mah) – Root: מה (mah); Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “What”; Notes: Introduces a rhetorical question.
- חָטָ֑אתִי (ḥataʾti) – Root: חטא (ḥata); Form: Qal perfect 1cs; Translation: “have I sinned”; Notes: Expresses confusion over perceived wrongdoing.
- כִּֽי־אַתָּ֞ה (ki-atta) – Root: כי (ki), אתה (ʾatta); Form: Conjunction + independent pronoun 2ms; Translation: “that you”; Notes: Introduces cause or reason.
- נוֹתֵ֧ן (noten) – Root: נתן (natan); Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “are giving”; Notes: Ongoing or imminent action.
- אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ֛ (et-ʿavdekha) – Root: עבד (ʿeved); Form: Direct object marker + noun + 2ms suffix; Translation: “your servant”; Notes: Refers to ʿOvadyahu himself.
- בְּיַד־אַחְאָ֖ב (be-yad Aḥʾav) – Root: יד (yad), אחאב (Aḥʾav); Form: Preposition + noun + proper noun; Translation: “into the hand of Aḥʾav”; Notes: Idiom for placing someone at another’s mercy or power.
- לַהֲמִיתֵֽנִי (la-hamiteni) – Root: מות (mut); Form: Hifil infinitive construct + 1cs suffix; Translation: “to put me to death”; Notes: Final outcome ʿOvadyahu fears.