2 Samuel 20:20

וַיַּ֥עַן יֹואָ֖ב וַיֹּאמַ֑ר חָלִ֤ילָה חָלִ֨ילָה֙ לִ֔י אִם־אֲבַלַּ֖ע וְאִם־אַשְׁחִֽית׃

And Yoʾav answered and said, “Far be it, far be it from me that I should swallow up or that I should destroy.

Morphology

1. וַיַּעַן (vayyaʿan) – Root: ענה; Form: Wayyiqtol Qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular; Translation: “And he answered”; Notes: Standard narrative form introducing a reply.
2. יֹואָב (Yoʾav) – Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yoʾav”; Notes: Commander of Dawid’s army.
3. וַיֹּאמַר (vayyomar) – Root: אמר; Form: Wayyiqtol Qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular; Translation: “and he said”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
4. חָלִילָה (ḥalilah) – Root: חלל; Form: Interjection (usually from a form meaning “to profane”); Translation: “Far be it”; Notes: Expresses strong denial or abhorrence.
5. חָלִילָה (ḥalilah) – Root: חלל; Form: Repetition for emphasis; Translation: “Far be it”; Notes: Emphasizes rejection of the idea.
6. לִי (li) – Root: ל + אני; Form: Preposition + pronoun; Translation: “from me”; Notes: Indicates the speaker’s detachment from the action.
7. אִם (im) – Form: Conditional particle; Translation: “if”; Notes: Used here to negate the following actions (idiomatic).
8. אֲבַלַּע (ʾavallaʿ) – Root: בלע; Form: Qal imperfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I should swallow up”; Notes: Denotes destruction or consuming.
9. וְאִם (ve-im) – Form: Conjunction + conditional particle; Translation: “or if”; Notes: Connects two negated alternatives.
10. אַשְׁחִית (ʾashḥit) – Root: שׁחת; Form: Hifil imperfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I should destroy”; Notes: Causative stem indicating ruin or corruption.