וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹושֻׁ֜עַ אֶל־כָּל־הָעָ֗ם הִנֵּ֨ה הָאֶ֤בֶן הַזֹּאת֙ תִּֽהְיֶה־בָּ֣נוּ לְעֵדָ֔ה כִּֽי־הִ֣יא שָׁמְעָ֗ה אֵ֚ת כָּל־אִמְרֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֶּ֖ר עִמָּ֑נוּ וְהָיְתָ֤ה בָכֶם֙ לְעֵדָ֔ה פֶּֽן־תְּכַחֲשׁ֖וּן בֵּאלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
And Yehoshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be for us as a witness, for it has heard all the words of YHWH that He spoke with us. And it shall be a witness against you, lest you deny your God.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֨אמֶר (vayomer) – Root: אמר (amar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (preterite) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Refers to Yehoshua speaking.
- יְהֹושֻׁ֜עַ (Yehoshua) – Root: יהושע (Yehoshua); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yehoshua”; Notes: The subject of the verb.
- אֶל־כָּל־הָעָ֗ם (el-kol-haʿam) – Root: עם (ʿam); Form: Prepositional phrase with definite noun; Translation: “to all the people”; Notes: Directs the speech to the people.
- הִנֵּ֨ה (hinneh) – Root: הנה (hinneh); Form: Interjection; Translation: “Behold”; Notes: Introduces a statement emphatically.
- הָאֶ֤בֶן (ha-even) – Root: אבן (even); Form: Noun, feminine singular definite; Translation: “the stone”; Notes: The subject of the clause.
- הַזֹּאת֙ (hazot) – Root: זה (zeh); Form: Demonstrative pronoun, feminine singular; Translation: “this”; Notes: Modifies “stone.”
- תִּֽהְיֶה־בָּ֣נוּ (tihyeh-banu) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular + preposition; Translation: “shall be for us”; Notes: Describes the stone’s function.
- לְעֵדָ֔ה (le-ʿedah) – Root: עד (ʿed); Form: Noun, feminine singular; Translation: “as a witness”; Notes: Explains the purpose of the stone.
- כִּֽי־הִ֣יא (ki-hi) – Root: הוא (hu); Form: Conjunction + pronoun; Translation: “for it”; Notes: Introduces the reason.
- שָׁמְעָ֗ה (shamaʿah) – Root: שמע (shamaʿ); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “has heard”; Notes: Anthropomorphically describes the stone hearing.
- אֵ֚ת כָּל־אִמְרֵ֣י (et kol-imrei) – Root: אמר (amar); Form: Construct noun phrase; Translation: “all the words of”; Notes: Direct object.
- יְהוָ֔ה (YHWH) – Root: יהוה (YHWH); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Refers to the divine name.
- אֲשֶׁ֥ר (asher) – Root: אשר (asher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “that”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause.
- דִּבֶּ֖ר (dibber) – Root: דבר (dabar); Form: Piel perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “He spoke”; Notes: Intensive action.
- עִמָּ֑נוּ (ʿimmanu) – Root: עם (ʿim); Form: Prepositional phrase; Translation: “with us”; Notes: Indicates the recipients.
- וְהָיְתָ֤ה (vehayetah) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular with vav-consecutive; Translation: “and it shall be”; Notes: Another function of the stone.
- בָכֶם֙ (bakhem) – Root: ב (b); Form: Prepositional phrase; Translation: “against you”; Notes: Specifies the object.
- לְעֵדָ֔ה (le-ʿedah) – Root: עד (ʿed); Form: Noun, feminine singular; Translation: “as a witness”; Notes: Reiterates its role.
- פֶּֽן־תְּכַחֲשׁ֖וּן (pen-tekhaḥashun) – Root: כחש (kaḥash); Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “lest you deny”; Notes: Warns of potential disbelief.
- בֵּאלֹהֵיכֶֽם (be-Eloheikhem) – Root: אלהים (Elohim); Form: Noun, masculine plural with 2nd person plural suffix; Translation: “your Elohim”; Notes: Object of the verb.