וַיִּשְׁלַח֩ אַבְנֵ֨ר מַלְאָכִ֧ים אֶל־דָּוִ֛ד תַּחְתָּ֖ו לֵאמֹ֑ר לְמִי־אָ֗רֶץ לֵאמֹ֤ר כָּרְתָ֤ה בְרִיתְךָ֙ אִתִּ֔י וְהִנֵּה֙ יָדִ֣י עִמָּ֔ךְ לְהָסֵ֥ב אֵלֶ֖יךָ אֶת־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
And Avner sent messengers to Dawid in his place, saying, “To whom does the land belong?” saying, “Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you, to bring all Yisraʾel around to you.”
Morphology
- וַיִּשְׁלַח (vayyishlaḥ) – Root: שלח; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he sent”; Notes: Narrative past form.
- אַבְנֵר (Avner) – Root: אבנר; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Avner”; Notes: Subject of the verb.
- מַלְאָכִים (malʾakhim) – Root: מלאך; Form: Noun, masculine plural; Translation: “messengers”; Notes: Plural of malʾakh, meaning envoy or agent.
- אֶל־דָּוִד (el-Dawid) – Root: אל, דוד; Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “to Dawid”; Notes: Direction of the sending.
- תַּחְתָּו (taḥtav) – Root: תחת; Form: Preposition + 3rd masculine singular suffix; Translation: “in his place” or “instead of him”; Notes: Possibly locative; indicates Avner sent on his own behalf.
- לֵאמֹר (lemor) – Root: אמר; Form: Infinitive construct with preposition; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
- לְמִי־אָרֶץ (le-mi-aretz) – Root: מי, ארץ; Form: Interrogative preposition + noun, feminine singular; Translation: “To whom does the land belong?”; Notes: Rhetorical question to establish authority.
- לֵאמֹר (lemor) – Root: אמר; Form: Infinitive construct with preposition (repeated); Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces second statement.
- כָּרְתָה (kartah) – Root: כרת; Form: Qal perfect 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “cut” or “make”; Notes: Idiomatic for making a covenant.
- בְרִיתְךָ (beritkha) – Root: ברית; Form: Noun, feminine singular construct + 2nd masculine singular suffix; Translation: “your covenant”; Notes: Object of the verb karat.
- אִתִּי (itti) – Root: את; Form: Preposition with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “with me”; Notes: Partner of the covenant.
- וְהִנֵּה (ve-hinneh) – Root: הנה; Form: Interjection; Translation: “and behold”; Notes: Draws attention to following statement.
- יָדִי (yadi) – Root: יד; Form: Noun, feminine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my hand”; Notes: Symbol of support or power.
- עִמָּךְ (ʿimmakh) – Root: עם; Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “with you”; Notes: Indicates loyalty or alliance.
- לְהָסֵב (le-hasev) – Root: סבב; Form: Hifil infinitive construct; Translation: “to turn” or “to bring around”; Notes: Purpose clause.
- אֵלֶיךָ (elekha) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Direction of the movement.
- אֶת־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל (et-kol-Yisraʾel) – Root: כל, ישראל; Form: Direct object marker + noun + proper noun; Translation: “all Yisraʾel”; Notes: Refers to the whole northern kingdom.