וַיֹּ֨אמֶר לָ֥הּ הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ אַל־תִּֽירְאִ֖י כִּ֣י מָ֣ה רָאִ֑ית וַתֹּ֤אמֶר הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ אֶל־שָׁא֔וּל אֱלֹהִ֥ים רָאִ֖יתִי עֹלִ֥ים מִן־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?” And the woman said to Shaʾul, I saw gods coming up from the earth.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֨אמֶר (vayomer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (preterite) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Introduces the king’s speech.
- לָ֥הּ (lah) – Root: הוא (hu); Form: Preposition with 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “to her”; Notes: Refers to the woman being addressed.
- הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ (ha-melekh) – Root: מלך (melekh); Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Refers to Shaʾul, the king of Yisraʾel.
- אַ֜ל (al) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “Do not”; Notes: Indicates a prohibition or command.
- תִּֽירְאִ֖י (tireʾi) – Root: ירא (yareʾ); Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person feminine singular; Translation: “be afraid”; Notes: A verb of fear, used here as a command.
- כִּ֣י (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for”; Notes: Provides the reason for the king’s reassurance.
- מָ֣ה (mah) – Root: מה (mah); Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “what”; Notes: Used to ask about the woman’s vision.
- רָאִ֑ית (raʾit) – Root: ראה (raʾah); Form: Qal perfect 2nd person feminine singular; Translation: “did you see”; Notes: Refers to the woman’s vision of what appeared during the consultation.
- וַתֹּ֤אמֶר (vatomer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (preterite) 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “And she said”; Notes: The woman’s response to the king.
- הָֽאִשָּׁ֙ה (ha-ishah) – Root: אשה (ishah); Form: Noun, feminine singular with definite article; Translation: “the woman”; Notes: Refers to the medium speaking to Shaʾul.
- אֶל־שָׁא֧וּל (el-Shaʾul) – Root: שׁואל (Shaʾul); Form: Proper noun with preposition; Translation: “to Shaʾul”; Notes: Indicates the direction of the woman’s speech.
- אֱלֹהִ֥ים (Elohim) – Root: אל (El); Form: Noun, masculine plural (used singularly for God); Translation: “gods”; Notes: Refers to divine beings, used here in the context of seeing supernatural figures.
- רָאִ֖יתִי (raʾiti) – Root: ראה (raʾah); Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I saw”; Notes: The woman’s confirmation of her vision.
- עֹלִ֥ים (ʿolim) – Root: עלם (ʿalam); Form: Verb, Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “coming up”; Notes: Describes the appearance of the “gods” rising from the earth.
- מִן־הָאָֽרֶץ (min-ha-aretz) – Root: ארץ (ʾeretz); Form: Noun, feminine singular with preposition; Translation: “from the earth”; Notes: Indicates that the vision involved beings coming from below, possibly implying the realm of the dead.