וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ אֶל־אִתַּ֣י הַגִּתִּ֔י לָ֧מָּה תֵלֵ֛ךְ גַּם־אַתָּ֖ה אִתָּ֑נוּ שׁ֣וּב וְשֵׁ֤ב עִם־הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ כִּֽי־נָכְרִ֣י אַ֔תָּה וְגַם־גֹּלֶ֥ה אַתָּ֖ה לִמְקֹומֶֽךָ׃
And the king said to Ittai the Gitti, “Why should you also go with us? Return and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner, and also an exile from your place.
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (vayyomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Standard narrative continuation.
- הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ (ha-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Definite noun, masculine singular; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Subject of the speech, referring to Dawid.
- אֶל־אִתַּ֣י (el-Ittai) – Root: אתי; Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “to Ittai”; Notes: Direct speech recipient.
- הַגִּתִּ֔י (ha-Gitti) – Root: גת; Form: Definite gentilic adjective; Translation: “the Gittite”; Notes: Denotes origin from Gat.
- לָ֧מָּה (lammah) – Root: מה; Form: Interrogative particle; Translation: “Why”; Notes: Introduces a rhetorical or genuine question.
- תֵלֵ֛ךְ (telekh) – Root: הלך; Form: Qal imperfect 2nd masculine singular; Translation: “should you go”; Notes: Volitional or deliberative sense.
- גַּם־אַתָּ֖ה (gam-attah) – Root: גם + אתה; Form: Particle + independent pronoun; Translation: “also you”; Notes: Emphasizes addition to others already going.
- אִתָּ֑נוּ (ittanu) – Root: את; Form: Preposition + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “with us”; Notes: Accompaniment marker.
- שׁ֣וּב (shuv) – Root: שוב; Form: Qal imperative 2nd masculine singular; Translation: “Return”; Notes: Command form.
- וְשֵׁ֤ב (ve-shev) – Root: ישׁב; Form: Qal imperative 2nd masculine singular; Translation: “and stay”; Notes: Sequential command.
- עִם־הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ (ʿim-ha-melekh) – Root: עם + מלך; Form: Preposition + definite noun; Translation: “with the king”; Notes: Likely referring to Avshalom.
- כִּֽי־נָכְרִ֣י (ki-nokhri) – Root: נכר; Form: Conjunction + adjective, masculine singular; Translation: “for a foreigner”; Notes: Provides justification for the command.
- אַ֔תָּה (attah) – Root: אתה; Form: Independent pronoun, 2nd masculine singular; Translation: “you”; Notes: Emphatic subject of clause.
- וְגַם־גֹּלֶ֥ה (ve-gam-goleh) – Root: גלה; Form: Conjunction + particle + Qal active participle masculine singular; Translation: “and also an exile”; Notes: Describes legal/immigrant status.
- אַתָּ֖ה (attah) – Root: אתה; Form: Independent pronoun, 2nd masculine singular; Translation: “you”; Notes: Emphasizes personal state of Ittai.
- לִמְקֹומֶֽךָ (limqomekha) – Root: מקום; Form: Preposition + noun, masculine singular + 2nd masculine singular suffix; Translation: “to your place”; Notes: Refers to Ittai’s native land or origin.