וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מָ֚ה הֶעָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תָּה לִּ֖י אָחִ֑י וַיִּקְרָ֤א לָהֶם֙ אֶ֣רֶץ כָּב֔וּל עַ֖ד הַיֹּ֥ום הַזֶּֽה׃ פ
And he said, “What are these cities that you have given me, my brother?” And he called them the land of Kavul until this day.
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Typical narrative introduction of speech.
- מָה (mah) – Root: מה; Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “What?”; Notes: Begins a rhetorical or genuine question.
- הֶעָרִים (he-ʿarim) – Root: עיר; Form: Definite plural noun; Translation: “these cities”; Notes: Refers to those given by Shelomoh.
- הָאֵלֶּה (ha-elleh) – Root: אלה; Form: Demonstrative adjective, masculine plural; Translation: “these”; Notes: Emphasizes specificity.
- אֲשֶׁר (asher) – Root: אשר; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “that / which”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause.
- נָתַתָּה (natatta) – Root: נתן; Form: Qal perfect 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “you gave”; Notes: Direct address to Shelomoh.
- לִּי (li) – Root: לי; Form: Preposition + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Recipient of the gift.
- אָחִי (aḥi) – Root: אח; Form: Noun with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my brother”; Notes: Used diplomatically between kings.
- וַיִּקְרָא (va-yiqra) – Root: קרא; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he called”; Notes: Introduction of naming or designation.
- לָהֶם (lahem) – Root: הם; Form: Preposition + 3rd person plural suffix; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to the cities.
- אֶרֶץ כָּבוּל (ʾerets Kavul) – Root: ארץ / כבל; Form: Noun + place name; Translation: “land of Kavul”; Notes: Possibly meaning “bound” or “good-for-nothing”—indicating dissatisfaction.
- עַד (ʿad) – Root: עד; Form: Preposition; Translation: “until”; Notes: Marks duration.
- הַיֹּום הַזֶּה (ha-yom hazzeh) – Root: יום / זה; Form: Definite noun + demonstrative adjective; Translation: “this day”; Notes: Expression of continuity up to the present.