מִמִּ֖י נָעָ֑מְתָּ רְדָ֥ה וְהָשְׁכְּבָ֖ה אֶת־עֲרֵלִֽים׃
From whom have you become more pleasant? Go down and lie with the uncircumcised.
Morphology
- מִמִּי (mimmi) – Root: מן (min); Form: Preposition מִן + interrogative pronoun מִי; Translation: “from whom”; Notes: Used in a rhetorical question emphasizing comparison or reproach—“from whom are you more delightful?”
- נָעָמְתָּ (naʿamta) – Root: נעם (naʿam); Form: Qal perfect 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “you have become pleasant / you have been made delightful”; Notes: Refers to Egypt’s former splendor or supposed superiority among nations, now contrasted with its descent to Sheol.
- רְדָה (redah) – Root: ירד (yarad); Form: Qal imperative masculine singular; Translation: “go down”; Notes: Command directed to Egypt (personified), urging descent into the realm of the dead; often paired with verbs of lying down in Sheol imagery.
- וְהָשְׁכְּבָה (ve-hashkevah) – Root: שׁכב (shakav); Form: Conjunction וְ + Hifil imperative masculine singular; Translation: “and lie / cause yourself to lie”; Notes: The Hifil form carries a reflexive nuance here—“be laid down” in death, an idiom for burial or resting among the dead.
- אֶת־ (ʾet) – Root: את (ʾet); Form: Direct object marker; Translation: “(marks the direct object)”; Notes: Introduces the object of the imperative verb “lie with.”
- עֲרֵלִים (ʿarelim) – Root: ערל (ʿarel); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “the uncircumcised”; Notes: A term used of foreign nations, particularly those outside YHWH’s covenant community; symbolizes impurity and separation from divine favor.