כֹּֽה־אָמַ֞ר אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֗ה הַֽאַתָּה־ה֨וּא אֲשֶׁר־דִּבַּ֜רְתִּי בְּיָמִ֣ים קַדְמֹונִ֗ים בְּיַד֙ עֲבָדַי֙ נְבִיאֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הַֽנִּבְּאִ֛ים בַּיָּמִ֥ים הָהֵ֖ם שָׁנִ֑ים לְהָבִ֥יא אֹתְךָ֖ עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ ס
Thus says the Lord YHWH: “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by My servants, the prophets of Yisraʾel, who prophesied in those days for years, that I would bring you against them?
Morphology
- כֹּה־אָמַר (koh-amar) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Adverb + Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “Thus says”; Notes: Standard prophetic formula introducing a divine oracle.
- אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה (Adonai YHWH) – Root: —; Form: Compound divine title; Translation: “Lord YHWH”; Notes: Denotes supreme authority and covenantal lordship.
- הַאַתָּה־הוּא (ha-attah hu) – Root: —; Form: Interrogative particle הֲ + independent pronoun masculine singular (אַתָּה) + pronoun masculine singular (הוּא); Translation: “Are you the one?”; Notes: A rhetorical question expressing divine irony or recognition of fulfillment.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: —; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “whom” or “that”; Notes: Introduces the relative clause identifying Gog as the subject of prior prophecy.
- דִּבַּרְתִּי (dibbarti) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Piel perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I spoke”; Notes: Denotes divine speech in a formal, authoritative sense—through the prophets.
- בְּיָמִים (be-yamim) – Root: יום (yom); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine plural; Translation: “in days”; Notes: Refers to a temporal setting—past eras of prophetic revelation.
- קַדְמֹונִים (qadmonim) – Root: קדם (qadam); Form: Adjective masculine plural; Translation: “former” or “ancient”; Notes: Describes the distant past when earlier prophets spoke of these future events.
- בְּיַד (be-yad) – Root: יד (yad); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun feminine singular construct; Translation: “by the hand of”; Notes: Idiomatically denotes agency—through the instrumentality of the prophets.
- עֲבָדַי (ʿavaday) – Root: עבד (ʿavad); Form: Noun masculine plural construct + suffix 1st person singular; Translation: “My servants”; Notes: Refers to the prophets as loyal messengers of YHWH.
- נְבִיאֵי (neviʾei) – Root: נבא (naviʾ); Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “prophets of”; Notes: Apposition to “My servants,” identifying them as the prophets through whom YHWH spoke.
- יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisraʾel) – Root: ישראל (Yisraʾel); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yisraʾel”; Notes: Specifies the prophetic community of the covenant nation.
- הַנִּבְּאִים (ha-nibbeʾim) – Root: נבא (navaʾ); Form: Definite article + Niphal participle masculine plural; Translation: “who prophesied”; Notes: Refers to the continuous prophetic activity in ancient Yisraʾel foretelling these events.
- בַּיָּמִים (ba-yamim) – Root: יום (yom); Form: Preposition בְּ + definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “in the days”; Notes: Repetition emphasizing duration and historical continuity of prophetic witness.
- הָהֵם (ha-hem) – Root: —; Form: Demonstrative pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “those”; Notes: Refers back to the ancient prophetic period.
- שָׁנִים (shanim) – Root: שׁנה (shanah); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “years”; Notes: Stresses the prolonged period of prophetic anticipation before the event’s fulfillment.
- לְהָבִיא (le-havi) – Root: בוא (bo); Form: Preposition לְ + Hiphil infinitive construct; Translation: “to bring”; Notes: Expresses divine intent—YHWH’s purpose to bring Gog against His people for judgment and revelation.
- אֹתְךָ (otkha) – Root: —; Form: Object marker אֵת + suffix 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “you”; Notes: The direct object of “to bring,” referring specifically to Gog.
- עֲלֵיהֶם (ʿalehem) – Root: —; Form: Preposition עַל + suffix 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “against them”; Notes: Refers to Yisraʾel as the object of the divinely ordained encounter.