וַיָּבֹא־גָ֥ד אֶל־דָּוִ֖ד וַיַּגֶּד־לֹ֑ו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לֹ֡ו הֲתָבֹ֣וא לְךָ֣ שֶֽׁבַע שָׁנִ֣ים רָעָ֣ב בְּאַרְצֶ֡ךָ אִם־שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה חֳ֠דָשִׁים נֻסְךָ֨ לִפְנֵֽי־צָרֶ֜יךָ וְה֣וּא רֹדְפֶ֗ךָ וְאִם־֠הֱיֹות שְׁלֹ֨שֶׁת יָמִ֥ים דֶּ֨בֶר֙ בְּאַרְצֶ֔ךָ עַתָּה֙ דַּ֣ע וּרְאֵ֔ה מָה־אָשִׁ֥יב שֹׁלְחִ֖י דָּבָֽר׃ ס
And Gad came to Dawid and told him, and he said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or three months of fleeing before your enemies while he pursues you? Or shall there be three days of plague in your land? Now know and see what I shall answer to Him who sent me.”
Morphology
- וַיָּבֹא־גָד (vayyavo-Gad) – Root: בוא; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd masculine singular; Translation: “And Gad came”; Notes: Sequential verb introducing narrative action.
- אֶל־דָּוִד (el-Dawid) – Root: —; Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “to Dawid”; Notes: Marks the recipient of the action.
- וַיַּגֶּד־לֹו (vayyagged-lo) – Root: נגד; Form: Hifil wayyiqtol 3rd masculine singular + 3ms suffix; Translation: “and he told him”; Notes: Hifil stem used for causative action, indicating communication.
- וַיֹּאמֶר לֹו (vayomer lo) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd masculine singular + 3ms suffix; Translation: “and he said to him”; Notes: Introduction of direct speech.
- הֲתָבֹא (hata vo) – Root: בוא; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular with interrogative prefix; Translation: “Shall it come”; Notes: Marks the start of a rhetorical question.
- לְךָ (lekha) – Root: —; Form: Preposition + 2ms suffix; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Indicates the recipient of the coming calamity.
- שֶׁבַע (sheva) – Root: שבע; Form: Cardinal number, feminine; Translation: “seven”; Notes: Agrees in gender with the noun “years”.
- שָׁנִים (shanim) – Root: שנה; Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “years”; Notes: Standard term for marking time spans.
- רָעָב (raʿav) – Root: רעב; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “famine”; Notes: Refers to food scarcity as divine punishment.
- בְּאַרְצֶךָ (be-artsekha) – Root: ארץ; Form: Noun feminine singular + 2ms suffix with preposition; Translation: “in your land”; Notes: Indicates the scope of the famine.
- אִם (im) – Root: —; Form: Conditional conjunction; Translation: “or if”; Notes: Presents an alternative judgment option.
- שְׁלֹשָׁה (shelosha) – Root: שלש; Form: Cardinal number, masculine; Translation: “three”; Notes: Agrees in gender with “months”.
- חֳדָשִׁים (ḥodashim) – Root: חדש; Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “months”; Notes: Indicates the duration of military threat.
- נֻסְךָ (nuskha) – Root: נוס; Form: Qal passive imperfect 2ms; Translation: “you be pursued”; Notes: Describes Dawid fleeing from enemies.
- לִפְנֵי־צָרֶיךָ (lifnei-tsarekha) – Root: צרר; Form: Preposition + noun masculine plural + 2ms suffix; Translation: “before your enemies”; Notes: Indicates the direction of flight and threat source.
- וְהוּא (ve-hu) – Root: —; Form: Independent pronoun 3ms; Translation: “and he”; Notes: Refers back to the enemy pursuing.
- רֹדְפֶךָ (rodfekha) – Root: רדף; Form: Qal participle masculine singular + 2ms suffix; Translation: “pursues you”; Notes: Describes continuous action.
- וְאִם־הֱיֹות (ve-im heyot) – Root: היה; Form: Conjunction + infinitive construct; Translation: “or being”; Notes: Introduces a third option.
- שְׁלֹשֶׁת (sheloshet) – Root: שלש; Form: Construct numeral masculine; Translation: “three (of)”; Notes: Construct form for connecting to next noun.
- יָמִים (yamim) – Root: יום; Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “days”; Notes: Specifies the plague’s duration.
- דֶּבֶר (dever) – Root: דבר; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “plague”; Notes: Often signifies divine punishment through pestilence.
- בְּאַרְצֶךָ (be-artsekha) – Root: ארץ; Form: Noun feminine singular + 2ms suffix with preposition; Translation: “in your land”; Notes: Repetition for emphasis on personal consequence.
- עַתָּה (atta) – Root: —; Form: Adverb; Translation: “now”; Notes: Urges immediate decision.
- דַּע (daʿ) – Root: ידע; Form: Qal imperative masculine singular; Translation: “know”; Notes: Command to consider the options.
- וּרְאֵה (ureʾeh) – Root: ראה; Form: Qal imperative masculine singular; Translation: “and see”; Notes: Parallel to “know”, emphasizing thoughtful response.
- מָה (mah) – Root: —; Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “what”; Notes: Introduces direct object of “return”.
- אָשִׁיב (ashiv) – Root: שוב; Form: Hifil imperfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I shall return”; Notes: Hifil stem implies giving back or conveying a message.
- שֹׁלְחִי (sholḥi) – Root: שלח; Form: Qal participle masculine singular + 1cs suffix; Translation: “my sender”; Notes: Refers to YHWH, the one who dispatched Gad.
- דָּבָר (davar) – Root: דבר; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “word”; Notes: Refers to the prophetic reply to be given.