וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֵלָ֑י אֵ֚לֶּה בֵּ֣ית הַֽמְבַשְּׁלִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֧ר יְבַשְּׁלוּ־שָׁ֛ם מְשָׁרְתֵ֥י הַבַּ֖יִת אֶת־זֶ֥בַח הָעָֽם׃
And he said to me, “These are the houses of the cooks where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyōmer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: A standard narrative introduction marking direct speech within Ezekiel’s vision.
- אֵלָי (ʾelai) – Root: —; Form: Preposition אֶל + suffix 1st person singular; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Indicates direct address to Ezekiel by the guiding angelic figure.
- אֵלֶּה (ʾelleh) – Root: —; Form: Demonstrative pronoun plural; Translation: “These”; Notes: Refers to the structures just observed in the preceding verses of the vision.
- בֵּית (beit) – Root: בית (bayit); Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “house of” or “building of”; Notes: Introduces the function of the specific chambers mentioned next.
- הַמְבַשְּׁלִים (ha-mevashelim) – Root: בשל (bashal); Form: Definite article + Piel participle masculine plural; Translation: “the cooks” or “those who boil”; Notes: Refers to the temple servants designated for boiling the sacrificial meat.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: —; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “who” or “that”; Notes: Introduces the subordinate clause explaining the role of these cooks.
- יְבַשְּׁלוּ־שָׁם (yevashelu-sham) – Root: בשל (bashal); Form: Piel imperfect 3rd person masculine plural + adverb “there”; Translation: “they shall boil there”; Notes: The Piel form intensifies the act, emphasizing ritual preparation of meat offerings.
- מְשָׁרְתֵי (meshartē) – Root: שרת (sharat); Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “ministers of” or “servants of”; Notes: Refers to Levitical assistants serving within the temple complex.
- הַבַּיִת (ha-bayit) – Root: בית (bayit); Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the house”; Notes: Refers specifically to the temple, the dwelling place of YHWH.
- אֶת־זֶבַח (et-zevaḥ) – Root: זבח (zavaḥ); Form: Direct object marker אֶת + noun masculine singular; Translation: “the sacrifice”; Notes: Denotes the sacrificial meat portion of the offering, part of the cultic service.
- הָעָם (ha-ʿam) – Root: עם (ʿam); Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the people”; Notes: Refers to the worshippers of Yisraʾel whose offerings were prepared by the temple ministers.