וַתֹּאמֶר֩ הָאִשָּׁ֨ה הָאַחֶ֜רֶת לֹ֣א כִ֗י בְּנִ֤י הַחַי֙ וּבְנֵ֣ךְ הַמֵּ֔ת וְזֹ֤את אֹמֶ֨רֶת֙ לֹ֣א כִ֔י בְּנֵ֥ךְ הַמֵּ֖ת וּבְנִ֣י הֶחָ֑י וַתְּדַבֵּ֖רְנָה לִפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃
And the other woman said, “No! But my son is the living one, and your son is the dead.” And this one says, “No! But your son is the dead, and my son is the living.” Thus they spoke before the king.
Morphology
- וַתֹּאמֶר֩ (vattomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3fs; Translation: “And she said”; Notes: Narrative continuation introducing the second woman’s response.
- הָאִשָּׁ֨ה (ha-ishah) – Root: אשה; Form: Noun, feminine singular definite; Translation: “the woman”; Notes: Subject of the speech verb.
- הָאַחֶ֜רֶת (ha-aḥeret) – Root: אחר; Form: Adjective, feminine singular definite; Translation: “the other”; Notes: Distinguishes from the first speaker.
- לֹ֣א (lo) – Root: לא; Form: Negative particle; Translation: “No”; Notes: Emphatic denial.
- כִ֗י (ki) – Root: כי; Form: Particle; Translation: “but”; Notes: Here used as an adversative, contradicting the prior claim.
- בְּנִ֤י (benī) – Root: בן; Form: Noun, masculine singular construct + 1cs suffix; Translation: “my son”; Notes: Subject of the clause.
- הַחַי֙ (ha-ḥai) – Root: חיה; Form: Adjective, masculine singular definite; Translation: “the living”; Notes: Modifies “my son.”
- וּבְנֵ֣ךְ (u-venekh) – Root: בן; Form: Conjunction + noun, masculine singular construct + 2fs suffix; Translation: “and your son”; Notes: Object of contrast.
- הַמֵּ֔ת (ha-met) – Root: מות; Form: Qal participle, masculine singular definite; Translation: “the dead”; Notes: Describes the son’s state.
- וְזֹ֤את (ve-zot) – Root: זה; Form: Conjunction + demonstrative pronoun, feminine singular; Translation: “and this one”; Notes: Refers to the first woman.
- אֹמֶ֨רֶת (omeret) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal participle, feminine singular; Translation: “says”; Notes: Present tense/continuous action.
- לֹ֣א (lo) – Form: Negative particle; Translation: “No”; Notes: Repeated negation of claim.
- כִ֔י (ki) – Form: Conjunction; Translation: “but”; Notes: Adversative, as above.
- בְּנֵ֥ךְ (venekh) – Form: As above; Translation: “your son”
- הַמֵּ֖ת (ha-met) – Form: As above; Translation: “the dead”
- וּבְנִ֣י (u-venī) – Form: Conjunction + noun + 1cs suffix; Translation: “and my son”
- הֶחָ֑י (he-ḥai) – Root: חיה; Form: Adjective with definite article; Translation: “the living”; Notes: Mirror image of the earlier claim.
- וַתְּדַבֵּ֖רְנָה (vattedabbernah) – Root: דבר; Form: Piel wayyiqtol 3fp; Translation: “and they spoke”; Notes: Feminine plural, refers to both women.
- לִפְנֵ֥י (lifnei) – Root: פנה; Form: Preposition; Translation: “before”; Notes: Denotes spatial presence before authority.
- הַמֶּֽלֶךְ (ha-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun, masculine singular definite; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Refers to Shelomoh.