וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלִישָׁ֔ע שִׁמְע֖וּ דְּבַר־יְהוָ֑ה כֹּ֣ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה כָּעֵ֤ת מָחָר֙ סְאָֽה־סֹ֣לֶת בְּשֶׁ֗קֶל וְסָאתַ֧יִם שְׂעֹרִ֛ים בְּשֶׁ֖קֶל בְּשַׁ֥עַר שֹׁמְרֹֽון׃
And Elisha said, “Hear the word of YHWH: Thus says YHWH, ‘At this time tomorrow a seʾah of fine flour for a sheqel, and two seʾahs of barley for a sheqel at the gate of Shomeron.’”
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Introduces direct speech by Elisha.
- אֱלִישָׁע (ʾEliʾshaʿ) – Root: אלישע; Form: Proper noun, masculine singular; Translation: “Elisha”; Notes: The prophet speaking in the narrative.
- שִׁמְעוּ (shimʿu) – Root: שמע; Form: Qal imperative 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “Hear”; Notes: A direct command to the audience.
- דְּבַר־יְהוָה (devar-YHWH) – Root: דבר; Form: Construct noun masculine singular + proper noun; Translation: “the word of YHWH”; Notes: A prophetic formula introducing divine speech.
- כֹּה (koh) – Root: כה; Form: Adverb; Translation: “Thus”; Notes: Introduces a quotation of divine speech.
- אָמַר (ʾamar) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “said”; Notes: Refers to YHWH as the speaker.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: יהוה; Form: Proper noun, divine name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Tetragrammaton, the personal name of Israel’s God.
- כָּעֵת (kaʿet) – Root: עת; Form: Preposition כְּ + noun feminine singular; Translation: “At this time”; Notes: Refers to a specific future time.
- מָחָר (maḥar) – Root: מחר; Form: Adverb; Translation: “tomorrow”; Notes: Specifies the time of fulfillment of the prophecy.
- סְאָה־סֹלֶת (seʾah-solet) – Root: סאה, סלת; Form: Construct phrase: noun feminine singular + noun feminine singular; Translation: “a seʾah of fine flour”; Notes: A dry measurement for grain.
- בְּשֶׁקֶל (be-sheqel) – Root: שקל; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “for a sheqel”; Notes: The standard unit of currency or weight.
- וְסָאתַיִם (ve-saʾatayim) – Root: סאה; Form: Conjunction + dual form of feminine noun; Translation: “and two seʾahs”; Notes: Indicates a doubled measure.
- שְׂעֹרִים (seʿorim) – Root: שעור; Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “barley”; Notes: A common grain, often cheaper than wheat or fine flour.
- בְּשֶׁקֶל (be-sheqel) – Root: שקל; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “for a sheqel”; Notes: Repeated for parallelism and emphasis.
- בְּשַׁעַר (be-shaʿar) – Root: שער; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “at the gate of”; Notes: The city gate often functioned as a commercial hub.
- שֹׁמְרֹון (Shomeron) – Root: שמרון; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Shomeron”; Notes: Capital city of the northern kingdom of Yisraʾel.