וַיֹּ֥אמֶר מֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶל־יְהֹושָׁפָ֑ט הֲלֹוא֙ אָמַ֣רְתִּי אֵלֶ֔יךָ לֹֽוא־יִתְנַבֵּ֥א עָלַ֛י טֹ֖וב כִּ֥י אִם־רָֽע׃
And the king of Yisraʾel said to Yehoshafat, “Did I not say to you, he would not prophesy good concerning me, but only evil?”
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמֶר (va-yoʾmer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Introduces Aḥav’s reaction to Mikhayehu’s vision.
- מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל (melekh-Yisraʾel) – Root: מלך (melekh), ישראל (Yisraʾel); Form: Construct noun + proper noun; Translation: “king of Yisraʾel”; Notes: Refers to Aḥav, the northern king.
- אֶל־יְהֹושָׁפָט (el-Yehoshafat) – Root: אל (ʾel), יהושפט (Yehoshafat); Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “to Yehoshafat”; Notes: King of Yehudah, Aḥav’s ally in this campaign.
- הֲלֹוא (halo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Interrogative particle with negative; Translation: “Did I not”; Notes: Rhetorical question expressing frustration.
- אָמַרְתִּי (amarti) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I said”; Notes: Aḥav reminds Yehoshafat of his earlier warning.
- אֵלֶיךָ (elekha) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Directs the speech to Yehoshafat personally.
- לֹוא־יִתְנַבֵּא (lo-yitnabbeʾ) – Root: נבא (navaʾ); Form: Negative particle + Hitpael imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “he would not prophesy”; Notes: Hitpael form indicates ongoing or repeated prophetic action.
- עָלַי (ʿalai) – Root: על (ʿal); Form: Preposition + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “concerning me”; Notes: Refers to Aḥav as the subject of prophecy.
- טֹוב (tov) – Root: טוב (tov); Form: Noun or adjective masculine singular; Translation: “good”; Notes: Positive or favorable message.
- כִּי אִם־רָע (ki im-raʿ) – Root: רעע (raʿaʿ); Form: Conjunction + particle of exclusion + noun masculine singular; Translation: “but only evil”; Notes: Emphatic contrast with “good,” underscoring Aḥav’s complaint.