וַנִּשְׁמַ֗ע בְּקֹ֨ול יְהֹונָדָ֤ב בֶּן־רֵכָב֙ אָבִ֔ינוּ לְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוָּ֑נוּ לְבִלְתִּ֤י שְׁתֹֽות־יַ֨יִן֙ כָּל־יָמֵ֔ינוּ אֲנַ֣חְנוּ נָשֵׁ֔ינוּ בָּנֵ֖ינוּ וּבְנֹתֵֽינוּ׃
And we have obeyed the voice of Yehonadav son of Rekhav our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters.
Morphology
- וַנִּשְׁמַע (va-nishmaʿ) – Root: שמע; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 1st person common plural; Translation: “And we have obeyed” / “And we heard”; Notes: Here conveys obedience or heeding a command.
- בְּקֹול (bə-qōl) – Root: קול; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular in construct; Translation: “the voice of”; Notes: Refers to words, command, or authority of someone.
- יְהֹונָדָב (Yehonāḏāḇ) – Root: יונדב; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yehonadav”; Notes: Patriarch of the Reḵavite family.
- בֶּן־רֵכָב (ben-Rēḵāḇ) – Root: בן + רכב; Form: Construct phrase; Translation: “son of Reḵav”; Notes: Identifies Yehonadav’s lineage.
- אָבִינוּ (ʾāvīnū) – Root: אב; Form: Noun masculine singular with 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “our father”; Notes: Honorific title showing familial authority.
- לְכֹל (lə-kol) – Root: כל; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “in all” / “according to all”; Notes: Refers to comprehensive obedience.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾăsher) – Root: אשר; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “that”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause defining what was commanded.
- צִוָּנוּ (ṣivvānū) – Root: צוה; Form: Piel perfect 3rd person masculine singular + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “he commanded us”; Notes: Emphasizes the authoritative instruction from their ancestor.
- לְבִלְתִּי (lə-viltī) – Root: בלע; Form: Preposition with negative infinitive construct; Translation: “not to”; Notes: Introduces a negative purpose or prohibition.
- שְׁתֹות (shəṯōṯ) – Root: שתה; Form: Infinitive construct; Translation: “to drink”; Notes: Object of the negative particle לְבִלְתִּי.
- יַיִן (yayin) – Root: יין; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “wine”; Notes: What they were commanded not to drink.
- כָּל־יָמֵינוּ (kol-yāmēnū) – Root: כל + יום; Form: Construct phrase + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “all our days”; Notes: Expresses lifelong obedience.
- אֲנַחְנוּ (ʾanaḥnū) – Root: אנחנו; Form: Independent pronoun 1st person plural; Translation: “we”; Notes: Emphatic subject of the verb and command.
- נָשֵׁינוּ (nāshênū) – Root: אשה; Form: Plural noun feminine + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “our wives”; Notes: Inclusion of the household in the command.
- בָּנֵינוּ (bānênū) – Root: בן; Form: Plural noun masculine + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “our sons”; Notes: Prohibition applied across generations.
- וּבְנֹתֵינוּ (ū-ḇənōtênū) – Root: בת; Form: Conjunction + plural noun feminine + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “and our daughters”; Notes: Comprehensive scope of the command for the entire family.