וְנֹ֨חַ דנאל וְאִיֹּוב֮ בְּתֹוכָהּ֒ חַי־אָ֗נִי נְאֻם֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה אִם־בֵּ֥ן אִם־בַּ֖ת יַצִּ֑ילוּ הֵ֥מָּה בְצִדְקָתָ֖ם יַצִּ֥ילוּ נַפְשָֽׁם׃ פ
And Noaḥ, Danʾel, and Iyyov, if they were in it, as I live,” declares the Lord YHWH, “they would not deliver son or daughter; they by their righteousness would deliver their own souls.”
Morphology
- וְנֹחַ (ve-Noaḥ) – Root: נח (Noaḥ); Form: Conjunction + proper noun; Translation: “and Noaḥ”; Notes: The righteous patriarch of the flood.
- דנאל (Danʾel) – Root: דנאל (Danʾel); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Danʾel”; Notes: An older spelling of Daniel, or a legendary righteous figure.
- וְאִיֹּוב (ve-Iyyov) – Root: איוב (Iyyov); Form: Conjunction + proper noun; Translation: “and Iyyov”; Notes: The righteous sufferer, model of endurance.
- בְּתֹוכָהּ (be-tokhah) – Root: תוך (tokh); Form: Preposition + noun singular + 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “in it”; Notes: Refers to the land being judged.
- חַי־אָנִי (ḥai-ʾani) – Root: חיה (ḥayah); Form: Adjective masculine singular + independent pronoun; Translation: “by my life”; Notes: Divine oath formula asserting certainty.
- נְאֻם (neʾum) – Root: נאם (naʾam); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “declaration”; Notes: Prophetic affirmation of divine authority.
- אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonai) – Root: אדן (ʾadon); Form: Plural of majesty with suffix; Translation: “my Lord”; Notes: Reverential title paired with YHWH.
- יְהוִה (YHWH) – Root: הוה (hawah); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The covenant name of God.
- אִם (ʾim) – Root: אם (ʾim); Form: Conditional particle; Translation: “if / whether”; Notes: Used in oath formula for emphasis.
- בֵּן (ben) – Root: בן (ben); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “son”; Notes: Generic offspring.
- אִם־בַּת (ʾim-bat) – Root: בת (bat); Form: Conditional particle + noun feminine singular; Translation: “or daughter”; Notes: Completes the expression with both genders.
- יַצִּילוּ (yatsilu) – Root: נצל (natsal); Form: Hiphil imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they would deliver”; Notes: Causative form—rescue others. Negated in this context.
- הֵמָּה (hemmah) – Root: הם (hem); Form: Independent pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “they”; Notes: Emphatic subject reference to the three men.
- בְצִדְקָתָם (ve-tsidqatam) – Root: צדק (tsedeq); Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular construct + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “by their righteousness”; Notes: The means by which they would survive.
- יַצִּילוּ (yatsilu) – Root: נצל (natsal); Form: Hiphil imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they would deliver”; Notes: Here applied reflexively, preserving themselves.
- נַפְשָׁם (nafsham) – Root: נפשׁ (nefesh); Form: Noun feminine singular construct + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “their souls / their lives”; Notes: Limited deliverance—only their own lives spared.