וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהֹושָׁפָ֖ט אֶל־מֶ֣לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל דְּרָשׁ־נָ֥א כַיֹּ֖ום אֶת־דְּבַ֥ר יְהוָֽה׃
And Yehoshafat said to the king of Yisraʾel, “Please inquire today for the word of YHWH.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמֶר (va-yoʾmer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Standard narrative introduction of speech.
- יְהֹושָׁפָט (Yehoshafat) – Root: יהושפט (Yehoshafat); Form: Proper noun masculine singular; Translation: “Yehoshafat”; Notes: King of Yehudah responding cautiously to the proposal of war.
- אֶל־מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל (el-melekh Yisraʾel) – Root: אל (ʾel), מלך (melekh), ישראל (Yisraʾel); Form: Preposition + construct noun + proper noun; Translation: “to the king of Yisraʾel”; Notes: Refers to King Aḥav of the northern kingdom.
- דְּרָשׁ (derosh) – Root: דרשׁ (darash); Form: Qal imperative masculine singular; Translation: “Inquire!”; Notes: Command to seek divine guidance.
- נָא (na) – Root: נא (na); Form: Particle of entreaty; Translation: “please”; Notes: Polite intensifier to the imperative.
- כַיֹּום (ka-yom) – Root: יום (yom); Form: Preposition כְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “today”; Notes: Indicates immediacy or urgency.
- אֶת־דְּבַר (et-devar) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Accusative marker + construct noun masculine singular; Translation: “the word of”; Notes: Refers to the prophetic message or will of YHWH.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The covenant name of the God of Yisraʾel, source of prophetic authority.