בְּרֵאשִׁ֗ית מַמְלֶ֛כֶת יְהֹויָקִ֥ם בֶּן־יֹאושִׁיָּ֖הוּ מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֑ה הָיָ֞ה הַדָּבָ֤ר הַזֶּה֙ אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֔ה מֵאֵ֥ת יְהוָ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃
In the beginning of the reign of Yehoyaqim son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehuda, this word was to Yirmeya from YHWH, saying,
Morphology
- בְּרֵאשִׁית (be-reshit) – Root: ראשׁ; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun feminine singular (construct); Translation: “in the beginning of”; Notes: Construct links to the following noun (מַמְלֶכֶת) to mean a temporal starting point.
- מַמְלֶכֶת (mamlekhet) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun feminine singular (construct); Translation: “reign of / kingship of”; Notes: In construct with the proper name that follows, specifying whose reign.
- יְהֹויָקִם (Yehoyaqim) – Root: יהו + קום; Form: Proper name, masculine singular; Translation: “Yehoyaqim”; Notes: Scholarly transliteration used for the king’s name.
- בֶּן־ (ben) – Root: בן; Form: Noun masculine singular (construct); Translation: “son of”; Notes: Hyphen indicates construct linkage to the following proper name.
- יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ (Yoshiyahu) – Root: אושׁ/ישׁע (name); Form: Proper name, masculine singular; Translation: “Yoshiyahu”; Notes: Retains the theophoric ending -yahu.
- מֶלֶךְ (melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun masculine singular (construct with following); Translation: “king of”; Notes: In construct with יְהוּדָה specifying realm.
- יְהוּדָה (Yehudah) – Root: ידה (name); Form: Proper place/tribal name; Translation: “Yehudah”; Notes: Scholarly convention used instead of “Judah.”
- הָיָה (hayah) – Root: היה; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “was”; Notes: Stative/existential verb introducing the occurrence of the prophetic word.
- הַדָּבָר (ha-davar) – Root: דבר; Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the word”; Notes: Refers to a specific prophetic message.
- הַזֶּה (ha-zeh) – Root: זה; Form: Demonstrative pronoun masculine singular; Translation: “this”; Notes: Deictic specifying the particular oracle.
- אֶל־יִרְמְיָה (el-Yirmeyah) – Root: ירמיה; Form: Preposition אֶל + proper name; Translation: “to Yirmeyah”; Notes: Dative of recipient; short form of the name appears here.
- מֵאֵת (meʾet) – Root: את; Form: Preposition “from (with personal agent)”; Translation: “from”; Notes: Marks the source/agent of the message, stronger than simple מִן for personal agency.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: —; Form: Divine name (Tetragrammaton); Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Printed as “YHWH” per user’s convention.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal infinitive construct with prefixed לְ; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Standard formula introducing quoted divine speech that follows.