וַיְהִ֗י כְּדַבֵּר֙ אִ֣ישׁ הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים אֶל־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ לֵאמֹ֑ר סָאתַ֨יִם שְׂעֹרִ֜ים בְּשֶׁ֗קֶל וּֽסְאָה־סֹ֨לֶת֙ בְּשֶׁ֔קֶל יִהְיֶה֙ כָּעֵ֣ת מָחָ֔ר בְּשַׁ֖עַר שֹׁמְרֹֽון׃
And it came to pass, as the man of God spoke to the king, saying, “Two seʾim of barley for a sheqel, and a seʾah of fine flour for a sheqel shall be tomorrow about this time in the gate of Shomeron.”
Morphology
- וַיְהִי (va-yehi) – Root: היה; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And it came to pass”; Notes: Introduces a fulfillment of previous prophecy.
- כְּדַבֵּר (ke-dabber) – Root: דבר; Form: Preposition + Piel infinitive construct; Translation: “as (he was) speaking”; Notes: Temporal clause tied to the prophet’s speech.
- אִישׁ (ish) – Root: אישׁ; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “man”; Notes: Refers to a specific prophetic figure.
- הָאֱלֹהִים (ha-Elohim) – Root: אלהים; Form: Definite plural in form, singular in meaning; Translation: “of God”; Notes: Title: “man of God,” referring to Elisha.
- אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ (el-ha-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Preposition + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “to the king”; Notes: The direct recipient of the prophecy.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר; Form: Infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
- סָאתַיִם (saʾatayim) – Root: סאה; Form: Dual form construct; Translation: “two seʾim”; Notes: A seʾah is a unit of dry measure (~7 liters).
- שְׂעֹרִים (seʿorim) – Root: שער; Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “barley”; Notes: Common grain, food staple.
- בְּשֶׁקֶל (be-sheqel) – Root: שקל; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “for a sheqel”; Notes: Currency value, shows market price.
- וּסְאָה־סֹלֶת (u-seʾah-solet) – Root: סאה, סלת; Form: Noun construct feminine singular + noun feminine singular; Translation: “and a seʾah of fine flour”; Notes: More refined grain than barley.
- בְּשֶׁקֶל (be-sheqel) – Root: שקל; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “for a sheqel”; Notes: Identical pricing to barley, a sign of abundance.
- יִהְיֶה (yihyeh) – Root: היה; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “shall be”; Notes: Predictive future tense.
- כָּעֵת (ka-ʿet) – Root: עת; Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular; Translation: “about this time”; Notes: Refers to 24 hours from moment of speech.
- מָחָר (maḥar) – Root: מחר; Form: Adverb; Translation: “tomorrow”; Notes: Temporal marker of the prophecy’s fulfillment.
- בְּשַׁעַר (be-shaʿar) – Root: שׁער; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “in the gate of”; Notes: City gate—place of commerce and announcements.
- שֹׁמְרֹון (Shomeron) – Root: שמר; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Shomeron”; Notes: Capital city of the northern kingdom, Yisraʾel.