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 came to be”; Notes: Introduces a prophetic narrative, marking the reception of divine speech.
- דְבַר (devar) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “word of”; Notes: Bound form linking to YHWH, indicating possession or association.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: יהוה; Form: Proper divine name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Covenant name of Israel’s God, source of the prophetic word.
- אֵלַי (elai) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition + 1st person common singular suffix; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Marks the prophet as the direct recipient of YHWH’s word.
- לֵאמֹר (lemor) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Infinitive construct with prefixed לְ; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Formulaic introduction to quoted divine speech, common in prophetic texts.