וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע דָּוִד֙ מֵאַ֣חֲרֵי כֵ֔ן וַיֹּ֗אמֶר נָקִ֨י אָנֹכִ֧י וּמַמְלַכְתִּ֛י מֵעִ֥ם יְהוָ֖ה עַד־עֹולָ֑ם מִדְּמֵ֖י אַבְנֵ֥ר בֶּן־נֵֽר׃
And Dawid heard afterward, and he said, “I and my kingdom are innocent before YHWH forever from the blood of Avner son of Ner.
Morphology
- וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע (vayyishmaʿ) – Root: שׁמע; Form: Wayyiqtol (Qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular); Translation: “And he heard”; Notes: Narrative tense introducing a new action.
- דָּוִד֙ (Dawid) – Root: דוד; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Dawid”; Notes: Refers to King Dawid.
- מֵאַ֣חֲרֵי (meʾaḥarei) – Root: אחר; Form: Preposition + noun (construct form); Translation: “after”; Notes: Indicates sequence in time.
- כֵ֔ן (ken) – Root: כן; Form: Adverb; Translation: “thus”; Notes: Refers to the prior event (Avner’s death).
- וַיֹּ֗אמֶר (vayyomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Wayyiqtol (Qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular); Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
- נָקִ֨י (naqiy) – Root: נקה; Form: Adjective, masculine singular; Translation: “innocent”; Notes: Declares moral or legal purity.
- אָנֹכִ֧י (ʾanokhi) – Root: אנכי; Form: Independent personal pronoun, 1st person singular; Translation: “I”; Notes: Emphatic pronoun.
- וּמַמְלַכְתִּ֛י (u-mamlekhti) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun feminine singular construct + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “and my kingdom”; Notes: Possessive structure with coordinating conjunction.
- מֵעִ֥ם (me-ʿim) – Root: עם; Form: Preposition; Translation: “from with”; Notes: Indicates separation or origin.
- יְהוָ֖ה (YHWH) – Root: יהוה; Form: Proper noun, divine name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Tetragrammaton, referring to the God of Yisraʾel.
- עַד־עֹולָ֑ם (ʿad-ʿolam) – Root: עד / עולם; Form: Preposition + noun, masculine singular; Translation: “forever”; Notes: Idiomatic phrase indicating perpetuity.
- מִדְּמֵ֖י (mi-deme) – Root: דם; Form: Preposition + plural construct; Translation: “from the blood of”; Notes: Construct form indicating guilt or cause.
- אַבְנֵ֥ר (ʾAvner) – Root: אבנר; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Avner”; Notes: Refers to the slain commander.
- בֶּן־נֵֽר (ben-Ner) – Root: בן / נר; Form: Construct noun + proper noun; Translation: “son of Ner”; Notes: Patronymic phrase.