הֶאָמֹ֤ר תֹּאמַר֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אָ֔נִי לִפְנֵ֖י הֹֽרְגֶ֑ךָ וְאַתָּ֥ה אָדָ֛ם וְלֹא־אֵ֖ל בְּיַ֥ד מְחַלְלֶֽיךָ׃
Will you indeed say, ‘I am a god,’ before your slayer, when you are a man and not God, in the hand of those who profane you?
Morphology
- הֶאָמֹר (he-ʾamor) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Interrogative particle + infinitive absolute Qal masculine singular; Translation: “will indeed say”; Notes: The interrogative particle הֶ adds rhetorical emphasis—expressing astonishment or irony at the ruler’s arrogance.
- תֹּאמַר (toʾmar) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “you say” or “you will say”; Notes: The verb follows the infinitive absolute for intensification (“Will you really say?”).
- אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim) – Root: אלה (ʾelah); Form: Noun masculine plural of majesty; Translation: “a god” or “God”; Notes: Here refers to divine being in general, expressing the ruler’s self-deification claim.
- אָנִי (ʾani) – Root: —; Form: Independent pronoun first person singular; Translation: “I”; Notes: Used emphatically—“I am a god.”
- לִפְנֵי (lifnei) – Root: פנה (panah); Form: Preposition לְ + noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “before”; Notes: Indicates confrontation or presence, literally “in the face of.”
- הֹרְגֶךָ (horgekha) – Root: הרג (harag); Form: Qal participle masculine singular + suffix 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “your slayer”; Notes: Describes the one who kills you—an ironic reversal of the ruler’s claim to godhood.
- וְאַתָּה (ve-ʾattah) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction + independent pronoun masculine singular; Translation: “and you”; Notes: Contrasts sharply with the divine claim in the first clause.
- אָדָם (ʾadam) – Root: אדם (ʾadam); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a man”; Notes: Stresses mortality and frailty—contrary to the ruler’s claim of divinity.
- וְלֹא־אֵל (ve-lo-ʾel) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Conjunction + negative particle + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and not God”; Notes: Denies divine status, emphasizing human limitations.
- בְּיַד (be-yad) – Root: יד (yad); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun feminine singular; Translation: “in the hand of”; Notes: Idiom for being under someone’s power or control.
- מְחַלְלֶיךָ (meḥallelekha) – Root: חלל (ḥalal); Form: Piel participle masculine plural + suffix 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “those who profane you”; Notes: The Piel stem conveys intensive action — those who desecrate or defile what was once considered glorious.