וְהִשְׁכִּים֙ אַבְשָׁלֹ֔ום וְעָמַ֕ד עַל־יַ֖ד דֶּ֣רֶךְ הַשָּׁ֑עַר וַיְהִ֡י כָּל־הָאִ֣ישׁ אֲשֶֽׁר־יִהְיֶה־לֹּו־רִיב֩ לָבֹ֨וא אֶל־הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ לַמִּשְׁפָּ֗ט וַיִּקְרָ֨א אַבְשָׁלֹ֤ום אֵלָיו֙ וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אֵֽי־מִזֶּ֥ה עִיר֙ אַ֔תָּה וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מֵאַחַ֥ד שִׁבְטֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃
And Avshalom would rise early and stand beside the way of the gate; and it happened that every man who had a dispute to come to the king for judgment, then Avshalom would call to him and say, “From which city are you?” And he would say, “From one of the tribes of Yisraʾel is your servant.”
Morphology
- וְהִשְׁכִּים (ve-hishqim) – Root: שׁכם; Form: Hifʿil wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he rose early”; Notes: Verb in causative stem, expressing habitual early rising.
- אַבְשָׁלֹום (Avshalom) – Root: אבשלום; Form: Proper noun, masculine singular; Translation: “Avshalom”; Notes: Name of Dawid’s son.
- וְעָמַד (ve-ʿamad) – Root: עמד; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he stood”; Notes: Continuation of narrative action.
- עַל־יַד (ʿal-yad) – Root: על / יד; Form: Preposition + noun, feminine singular construct; Translation: “beside”; Notes: Idiomatic expression meaning ‘next to.’
- דֶּרֶךְ (derekh) – Root: דרך; Form: Noun, masculine singular absolute; Translation: “way”; Notes: Refers to road or path.
- הַשָּׁעַר (ha-shaʿar) – Root: שער; Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the gate”; Notes: City gates were central locations of justice.
- וַיְהִי (va-yehi) – Root: היה; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and it happened”; Notes: Narrative marker indicating transition.
- כָּל־הָאִישׁ (kol-haʾish) – Root: כל / איש; Form: Construct phrase; Translation: “every man”; Notes: Collective subject of the clause.
- אֲשֶֽׁר־יִהְיֶה־לֹּו־רִיב (ʾasher-yiheyeh-lo-riv) – Root: אשר / היה / ריב; Form: Relative clause with Qal imperfect 3ms + prepositional phrase + noun; Translation: “who had a dispute”; Notes: Describes the subject’s condition.
- לָבֹוא (lavo) – Root: בוא; Form: Infinitive construct with preposition; Translation: “to come”; Notes: Purpose clause.
- אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ (el-ha-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Prepositional phrase with definite noun; Translation: “to the king”; Notes: Refers to King Dawid.
- לַמִּשְׁפָּט (la-mishpaṭ) – Root: שפט; Form: Noun, masculine singular with preposition and article; Translation: “for judgment”; Notes: Legal context.
- וַיִּקְרָא (va-yiqra) – Root: קרא; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3ms; Translation: “then he called”; Notes: Subject is Avshalom.
- אַבְשָׁלֹום (Avshalom) – Root: אבשלום; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Avshalom”; Notes: Repetition of subject for emphasis.
- אֵלָיו (elav) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition with 3ms suffix; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Object of the verb.
- וַיֹּאמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3ms; Translation: “and he said”; Notes: Direct speech follows.
- אֵי־מִזֶּה (ʾei-mizzeh) – Root: אי / זה; Form: Interrogative + preposition with demonstrative; Translation: “From which”; Notes: Introductory question phrase.
- עִיר (ʿir) – Root: עיר; Form: Noun, feminine singular; Translation: “city”; Notes: Completes the question.
- אַתָּה (attah) – Root: אתה; Form: Pronoun, 2ms; Translation: “are you”; Notes: Subject pronoun of the question.
- וַיֹּאמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3ms; Translation: “and he said”; Notes: The man responds to Avshalom.
- מֵאַחַד (meʾaḥad) – Root: אחד; Form: Preposition + noun, masculine singular; Translation: “from one”; Notes: Indicates origin.
- שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל (shivṭei-Yisraʾel) – Root: שבט / ישראל; Form: Construct chain, masculine plural construct + proper noun; Translation: “tribes of Yisraʾel”; Notes: Tribal designation.
- עַבְדֶּךָ (ʿavdekha) – Root: עבד; Form: Noun, masculine singular with 2ms suffix; Translation: “your servant”; Notes: Polite self-reference.