הַאֱלֹהֵ֧י מִקָּרֹ֛ב אָ֖נִי נְאֻם־יְהוָ֑ה וְלֹ֥א אֱלֹהֵ֖י מֵרָחֹֽק׃
“Am I a God from nearby,” declares YHWH, “and not a God from far away?
Morphology
- הַאֱלֹהֵ֧י (ha-ʾĕlohei) – Root: אֱלֹהִים; Form: Interrogative particle + definite article + noun, masculine plural construct; Translation: “Am I a God of…”; Notes: Construct form used in rhetorical question; interrogative implied from context and construction.
- מִקָּרֹ֛ב (miqqārōv) – Root: קָרוֹב; Form: Preposition + noun, masculine singular; Translation: “from nearby”; Notes: The doubling of the Qoph indicates assimilation due to the preposition min (from).
- אָ֖נִי (ʾānī) – Root: —; Form: Independent pronoun, first person singular; Translation: “I”; Notes: Functions as the subject of the clause.
- נְאֻם־יְהוָ֑ה (neʾum-YHWH) – Root: נאם; Form: Noun, masculine singular construct + proper name; Translation: “utterance of YHWH”; Notes: Prophetic formula denoting divine speech or declaration.
- וְלֹ֥א (ve-lōʾ) – Root: לא; Form: Conjunction + negative particle; Translation: “and not”; Notes: Negates the parallel clause that follows.
- אֱלֹהֵ֖י (ʾĕlohei) – Root: אֱלֹהִים; Form: Noun, masculine plural construct; Translation: “a God of”; Notes: Parallel structure to first clause, construct state governing next word.
- מֵרָחֹֽק (mē-rāḥōq) – Root: רָחוֹק; Form: Preposition + noun, masculine singular; Translation: “from far away”; Notes: Antithetical to miqqārōv, emphasizes omnipresence.