וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר אֲלֵהֶ֔ם מֶ֚ה מִשְׁפַּ֣ט הָאִ֔ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָלָ֖ה לִקְרַאתְכֶ֑ם וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר אֲלֵיכֶ֔ם אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃
And he spoke to them, “What is the appearance of the man who came up to meet you and spoke to you these words?”
Morphology
- וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר (va-yedabber) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Piel wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he spoke”; Notes: Used here of the king addressing his messengers.
- אֲלֵהֶ֔ם (alehem) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “to them”; Notes: Refers to the returning messengers.
- מֶ֚ה (meh) – Root: מה (mah); Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “What”; Notes: Introduces a question regarding the man’s identity.
- מִשְׁפַּ֣ט (mishpat) – Root: שׁפט (shafat); Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “appearance” or “description”; Notes: Here used in the rare sense of outward bearing or look.
- הָאִ֔ישׁ (ha-ish) – Root: איש (ʾish); Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the man”; Notes: Refers to the one who intercepted the messengers.
- אֲשֶׁ֥ר (asher) – Root: אשר (ʾasher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause modifying “the man.”
- עָלָ֖ה (ʿalah) – Root: עלה (ʿalah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “came up”; Notes: Refers to his approach toward the messengers.
- לִקְרַאתְכֶ֑ם (liqratkhem) – Root: קרא (qara); Form: Preposition לְ + infinitive construct + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “to meet you”; Notes: Indicates the man’s intention or direction.
- וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר (va-yedabber) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Piel wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he spoke”; Notes: Repeats for emphasis the fact that the man communicated a message.
- אֲלֵיכֶ֔ם (aleikhem) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Again refers to the messengers.
- אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים (et-ha-devarim) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Direct object marker + definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “the words”; Notes: Direct object of what the man said.
- הָאֵֽלֶּה (ha-elleh) – Root: אלה (elleh); Form: Demonstrative pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “these”; Notes: Specifies the message previously quoted.