וַיַּ֧עַן אֲחִימֶ֛לֶךְ אֶת־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ וַיֹּאמַ֑ר וּמִ֤י בְכָל־עֲבָדֶ֨יךָ֙ כְּדָוִ֣ד נֶאֱמָ֔ן וַחֲתַ֥ן הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ וְסָ֥ר אֶל־מִשְׁמַעְתֶּ֖ךָ וְנִכְבָּ֥ד בְּבֵיתֶֽךָ׃
And Aḥimelekh answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as Dawid, the king’s son-in-law, and who goes at your bidding, and is honored in your house?
Morphology
- וַיַּ֧עַן (vayyaʿan) – Root: ענה (ʿānāh); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (sequential imperfect) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he answered”; Notes: Indicates response.
- אֲחִימֶ֛לֶךְ (Aḥīmelekh) – Root: אחימלך (Aḥīmelekh); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Aḥimelekh”; Notes: Subject of the sentence.
- אֶת־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ (ʾet-ha-melekh) – Root: מלך (melekh); Form: Direct object marker + noun, masculine singular definite; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Specifies the recipient of the answer.
- וַיֹּאמַ֑ר (vayyōmar) – Root: אמר (ʾāmar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he said”; Notes: Introduces speech.
- וּמִ֤י (ū-mī) – Root: מי (mī); Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “And who”; Notes: Introduces a rhetorical question.
- בְכָל־עֲבָדֶ֨יךָ֙ (bə-khol-ʿavadekha) – Root: עבד (ʿéved); Form: Preposition + noun, masculine plural construct + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “among all your servants”; Notes: Refers to Shaʾul’s servants.
- כְּדָוִ֣ד (ke-Dāwid) – Root: דוד (Dāwid); Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “as Dawid”; Notes: Comparison to Dawid.
- נֶאֱמָ֔ן (neʾemān) – Root: אמן (ʾāman); Form: Nifal participle, masculine singular; Translation: “faithful”; Notes: Describes Dawid’s loyalty.
- וַחֲתַ֥ן (wa-ḥatan) – Root: חתן (ḥātān); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “and son-in-law”; Notes: Refers to Dawid’s relationship to Shaʾul.
- הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ (ha-melekh) – Root: מלך (melekh); Form: Noun, masculine singular definite; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Title of Shaʾul.
- וְסָ֥ר (wə-sār) – Root: סור (sūr); Form: Qal participle, masculine singular; Translation: “and who goes”; Notes: Refers to Dawid’s obedience.
- אֶל־מִשְׁמַעְתֶּ֖ךָ (ʾel-mishmaʿtekha) – Root: שמע (shāmaʿ); Form: Preposition + noun, feminine singular construct + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “at your bidding”; Notes: Expresses submission.
- וְנִכְבָּ֥ד (wə-nikhbād) – Root: כבד (kāvēd); Form: Nifal participle, masculine singular; Translation: “and honored”; Notes: Indicates high status.
- בְּבֵיתֶֽךָ׃ (bə-vētekha) – Root: בית (bāyit); Form: Preposition + noun, masculine singular construct + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “in your house”; Notes: Refers to Shaʾul’s court.