וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ עַד־כַּמֶּ֥ה פְעָמִ֖ים אֲנִ֣י מַשְׁבִּעֶ֑ךָ אֲ֠שֶׁר לֹֽא־תְדַבֵּ֥ר אֵלַ֛י רַק־אֱמֶ֖ת בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְהוָֽה׃
And the king said to him, “How many times must I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but truth in the name of YHWH?”
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמֶר (va-yoʾmer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Refers to the king (Aḥav) responding to Mikhayehu.
- אֵלָיו (elav) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition + 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Refers to Mikhayehu.
- הַמֶּלֶךְ (ha-melekh) – Root: מלך (melekh); Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Subject of the speech, Aḥav.
- עַד־כַּמֶּה (ʿad-kammeh) – Root: כמה (kamah); Form: Preposition + interrogative phrase; Translation: “How many times”; Notes: Expression of exasperation or demand for truth.
- פְעָמִים (feʿamim) – Root: פעם (paʿam); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “times”; Notes: Refers to repeated past occurrences.
- אֲנִי (ʾani) – Root: אני (ʾani); Form: Pronoun 1st person singular; Translation: “I”; Notes: The king refers to himself as the one enforcing an oath.
- מַשְׁבִּעֶךָ (mashbiʿekha) – Root: שׁבע (shavaʿ); Form: Hiphil participle masculine singular + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “I adjure you”; Notes: Formal invocation requiring a sworn declaration.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: אשר (ʾasher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “that”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause expressing the king’s demand.
- לֹא־תְדַבֵּר (lo-tedabber) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Negative particle + Piel imperfect 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “you shall not speak”; Notes: Strong prohibition form using Piel for intensity.
- אֵלַי (elai) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Personal directive to the prophet.
- רַק (raq) – Root: רק (raq); Form: Adverb; Translation: “only”; Notes: Limits speech content to what is true.
- אֱמֶת (ʾemet) – Root: אמת (ʾemet); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “truth”; Notes: Opposed to flattery or deceitful speech.
- בְּשֵׁם (be-shem) – Root: שם (shem); Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “in the name of”; Notes: Indicates divine authority for speech.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Covenant name of God, emphasizing prophetic accountability.