וַיֹּ֣אמֶר טֹ֔וב אֲנִ֕י אֶכְרֹ֥ת אִתְּךָ֖ בְּרִ֑ית אַ֣ךְ דָּבָ֣ר אֶחָ֡ד אָנֹכִי֩ שֹׁאֵ֨ל מֵאִתְּךָ֤ לֵאמֹר֙ לֹא־תִרְאֶ֣ה אֶת־פָּנַ֔י כִּ֣י אִם־לִפְנֵ֣י הֱבִיאֲךָ֗ אֵ֚ת מִיכַ֣ל בַּת־שָׁא֔וּל בְּבֹאֲךָ֖ לִרְאֹ֥ות אֶת־פָּנָֽי׃ ס
And he said, “Good, I will cut a covenant with you. But one thing I ask of you, saying: You shall not see my face unless you bring Mikhal, daughter of Shaʾul, when you come to see my face.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Narrative verb introducing speech.
- טֹוב (tov) – Root: טוב; Form: Adjective, masculine singular; Translation: “Good”; Notes: Agreement or approval.
- אֲנִי (ani) – Root: —; Form: Independent pronoun, 1st person singular; Translation: “I”; Notes: Subject of the verb.
- אֶכְרֹת (ekrot) – Root: כרת; Form: Qal imperfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I will cut”; Notes: Common idiom for making a covenant.
- אִתְּךָ (ittekha) – Root: את; Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “with you”; Notes: Partner of the covenant.
- בְּרִית (berit) – Root: ברית; Form: Noun, feminine singular; Translation: “a covenant”; Notes: Direct object of ekrot.
- אַךְ (ʾakh) – Root: —; Form: Adverb; Translation: “but” or “however”; Notes: Introduces restriction or condition.
- דָּבָר (davar) – Root: דבר; Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “a thing”; Notes: Refers to the condition that follows.
- אֶחָד (eḥad) – Root: אחד; Form: Numeral, masculine singular; Translation: “one”; Notes: Modifies davar.
- אָנֹכִי (anokhi) – Root: —; Form: Independent pronoun, 1st person singular (formal/poetic); Translation: “I”; Notes: Emphatic subject.
- שֹׁאֵל (shoʾel) – Root: שאל; Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “asking”; Notes: Expresses current action or intent.
- מֵאִתְּךָ (meʾittekha) – Root: את; Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “from you”; Notes: Indicates source of request.
- לֵאמֹר (lemor) – Root: אמר; Form: Infinitive construct with preposition; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces direct command.
- לֹא־תִרְאֶה (lo tireʾeh) – Root: ראה; Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine singular with negation; Translation: “you shall not see”; Notes: Prohibition.
- אֶת־פָּנַי (et-panai) – Root: פנים; Form: Direct object marker + noun with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my face”; Notes: Idiom for “meet me” or “have an audience.”
- כִּי (ki) – Root: כי; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for” or “unless”; Notes: Introduces condition.
- אִם (im) – Root: אם; Form: Conditional particle; Translation: “if”; Notes: Paired with ki to introduce an exception.
- לִפְנֵי (lifnei) – Root: פנה; Form: Preposition + construct form; Translation: “before”; Notes: Temporal clause indicator.
- הֱבִיאֲךָ (heviʾakha) – Root: בוא; Form: Hifil perfect 2nd person masculine singular + 2nd person suffix; Translation: “you bring”; Notes: Conditional fulfillment.
- אֵת מִיכַל (et Mikhal) – Root: מיכל; Form: Direct object marker + proper noun; Translation: “Mikhal”; Notes: Daughter of Shaʾul and Dawid’s wife.
- בַּת־שָׁאוּל (bat-Shaʾul) – Root: בת, שאול; Form: Construct noun + proper noun; Translation: “daughter of Shaʾul”; Notes: Lineage clarification.
- בְּבֹאֲךָ (be-voʾakha) – Root: בוא; Form: Infinitive construct with 2nd person masculine singular suffix + preposition; Translation: “when you come”; Notes: Temporal clause.
- לִרְאֹות (lirʾot) – Root: ראה; Form: Infinitive construct with preposition; Translation: “to see”; Notes: Purpose clause.
- אֶת־פָּנָי (et-panai) – Root: פנים; Form: Direct object marker + noun with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my face”; Notes: Emphatic repetition.