וַיֹּ֗אמֶר מַ֠דּוּעַ אַתְּ הֹלֶכֶת אֵלָיו֙ הַיֹּ֔ום לֹֽא־חֹ֖דֶשׁ וְלֹ֣א שַׁבָּ֑ת וַתֹּ֖אמֶר שָׁלֹֽום׃
And he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath.” And she said, “Peace.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Refers to the husband addressing his wife with concern.
- מַדּוּעַ (maddūaʿ) – Root: ידע; Form: Interrogative adverb; Translation: “Why”; Notes: Compound of מָה + דּוּעַ (“what is known”), meaning “why.”
- אַתְּ (ʾat) – Root: —; Form: Independent pronoun, 2nd person feminine singular; Translation: “you”; Notes: Subject of the verb “are going.”
- הֹלֶכֶת (holekhet) – Root: הלך; Form: Qal participle feminine singular; Translation: “going”; Notes: Expresses continuous or immediate action.
- אֵלָיו (ʾelav) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition אֶל + third person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Refers to the prophet Elisha.
- הַיֹּום (ha-yom) – Root: יום; Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “today”; Notes: Specifies the time of the action.
- לֹא (lo) – Root: לא; Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Used to negate both upcoming terms.
- חֹדֶשׁ (ḥodesh) – Root: חדשׁ; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “new moon”; Notes: Refers to the start of the Hebrew month, often a time of religious observance.
- וְלֹא (ve-lo) – Root: לא; Form: Conjunction + negative particle; Translation: “nor”; Notes: Continues the negation of occasions.
- שַׁבָּת (shabbat) – Root: שׁבת; Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “Sabbath”; Notes: Weekly day of rest and worship, expected time for seeking the prophet.
- וַתֹּאמֶר (va-toʾmer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “And she said”; Notes: Marks her calm, restrained reply.
- שָׁלֹום (shalom) – Root: שׁלם; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “Peace”; Notes: A concise and loaded response, possibly to avoid further questions.