וַיַּ֥עַשׂ הָרַ֖ע בְּעֵינֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה רַ֗ק לֹ֚א כְּמַלְכֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָי֖וּ לְפָנָֽיו׃
And he did what was evil in the eyes of YHWH, only not like the kings of Yisraʾel who were before him.
Morphology
- וַיַּעַשׂ (va-yaʿas) – Root: עשׂה (ʿasah); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he did”; Notes: Typical narrative form indicating past action.
- הָרַע (ha-raʿ) – Root: רעע (raʿaʿ); Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the evil”; Notes: Indicates a specific category of wickedness, often in moral or cultic sense.
- בְּעֵינֵי (be-ʿeinei) – Root: עין (ʿayin); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun feminine dual construct with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “in the eyes of”; Notes: Common idiom for divine evaluation.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: היה (h-y-h); Form: Proper name of God (Tetragrammaton); Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Sacred name of Israel’s God, left untranslated.
- רַק (raq) – Root: רק (raq); Form: Adverb; Translation: “only”; Notes: Functions to limit or contrast the preceding statement.
- לֹא (lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Standard negation.
- כְּמַלְכֵי (ke-malkhei) – Root: מלך (melekh); Form: Preposition כְּ + construct plural masculine noun; Translation: “like the kings of”; Notes: Comparative phrase introducing the standard for contrast.
- יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisraʾel) – Root: ישראל (Yisraʾel); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yisraʾel”; Notes: Refers to the northern kingdom.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: אשר (ʾasher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause modifying “kings of Yisraʾel”.
- הָיוּ (hayu) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they were”; Notes: Indicates existence or state in the past.
- לְפָנָיו (le-fanav) – Root: פנים (panim); Form: Preposition לְ + noun in plural form with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “before him”; Notes: Refers to predecessors or prior generations.