וַיְהִ֥י דְבַר־יְהוָ֖ה אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר׃
And the word of YHWH came to me, saying,
Morphology
- וַיְהִי (va-yehi) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And it was / And it came to be”; Notes: Typical introductory formula in prophetic books signaling the beginning of a divine message.
- דְבַר (devar) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “word”; Notes: In construct with YHWH, referring to divine speech or revelation.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: הוה (hwh); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The Tetragrammaton, covenant name of Israel’s God.
- אֵלַי (elai) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition אֶל + first person common singular pronominal suffix; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Indicates direction of YHWH’s word toward the prophet.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Preposition לְ + Qal infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Standard biblical formula introducing direct speech.