וַיֹּ֨אמֶר לֹ֤ו דָוִד֙ לְֽמִי־אַ֔תָּה וְאֵ֥י מִזֶּ֖ה אָ֑תָּה וַיֹּ֜אמֶר נַ֧עַר מִצְרִ֣י אָנֹ֗כִי עֶ֚בֶד לְאִ֣ישׁ עֲמָֽלֵקִ֔י וַיַּעַזְבֵ֧נִי אֲדֹנִ֛י כִּ֥י חָלִ֖יתִי הַיֹּ֥ום שְׁלֹשָֽׁה׃
And Dawid said to him, “To whom do you belong, and from where are you?” And he said, “I am an Egyptian youth, a servant to an ʿAmaleqi man, and my master left me because I fell sick three days ago.
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֨אמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol (preterite) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
- לֹ֤ו (lo) – Root: ל; Form: Preposition with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Marks the recipient.
- דָוִד֙ (Dawid) – Root: דוד; Form: Proper noun, masculine singular; Translation: “Dawid”; Notes: Subject of the speech.
- לְֽמִי־אַ֔תָּה (le-mi attah) – Root: מי; Form: Interrogative pronoun with 2nd person masculine singular pronoun; Translation: “To whom do you belong?”; Notes: Seeks identification.
- וְאֵ֥י מִזֶּ֖ה אָ֑תָּה (ve-ei mizzeh attah) – Root: אי, זה; Form: Interrogative phrase; Translation: “And from where are you?”; Notes: Seeks place of origin.
- וַיֹּ֜אמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol (preterite) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Response to Dawid.
- נַ֧עַר (naʿar) – Root: נער; Form: Noun, masculine singular absolute; Translation: “a youth”; Notes: Describes himself.
- מִצְרִ֣י (Mitzri) – Root: מצר; Form: Adjective, masculine singular absolute; Translation: “Egyptian”; Notes: His ethnicity.
- אָנֹ֗כִי (anokhi) – Root: אנכי; Form: Pronoun, 1st person singular; Translation: “I am”; Notes: Personal identification.
- עֶ֚בֶד (ʿeved) – Root: עבד; Form: Noun, masculine singular absolute; Translation: “a servant”; Notes: His social status.
- לְאִ֣ישׁ (le-ish) – Root: איש; Form: Noun, masculine singular absolute with preposition; Translation: “to a man”; Notes: Specifies his master.
- עֲמָֽלֵקִ֔י (ʿAmaleqi) – Root: עמלק; Form: Adjective, masculine singular absolute; Translation: “an ʿAmaleqi”; Notes: Identifies the man’s nationality.
- וַיַּעַזְבֵ֧נִי (va-yaʿazveni) – Root: עזב; Form: Qal wayyiqtol (preterite) 3rd person masculine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “And he abandoned me”; Notes: Expresses betrayal.
- אֲדֹנִ֛י (adoni) – Root: אדן; Form: Noun, masculine singular construct with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my master”; Notes: His superior.
- כִּ֥י (ki) – Root: כי; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “because”; Notes: Introduces reason.
- חָלִ֖יתִי (ḥaliti) – Root: חלה; Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I fell sick”; Notes: Explains abandonment.
- הַיֹּ֥ום (ha-yom) – Root: יום; Form: Noun, masculine singular absolute with definite article; Translation: “today”; Notes: Time reference.
- שְׁלֹשָֽׁה׃ (sheloshah) – Root: שלש; Form: Numeral, masculine plural absolute; Translation: “three”; Notes: Indicates duration.