וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם עִבְרִ֣י אָנֹ֑כִי וְאֶת־יְהוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י הַשָּׁמַ֨יִם֙ אֲנִ֣י יָרֵ֔א אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֥ה אֶת־הַיָּ֖ם וְאֶת־הַיַּבָּשָֽׁה׃
And he said to them, “A Hebrew am I, and YHWH, the God of the heavens, I fear, who made the sea and the dry land.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֥אמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Conjunction וַ + Qal wayyiqtol 3ms; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Standard narrative progression.
- אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם (aleihem) – Root: אלל (ʾ-l-l); Form: Preposition אֶל + suffix 3mp; Translation: “to them”; Notes: Marks the sailors as recipients of Yonah’s statement.
- עִבְרִ֣י (ivri) – Root: עבר (ʿ-b-r); Form: Adjective masculine singular; Translation: “Hebrew”; Notes: Ethnonym indicating national identity.
- אָנֹ֑כִי (anokhi) – Root: אנכ (ʾ-n-k); Form: Independent pronoun 1cs; Translation: “I”; Notes: Emphatic form.
- וְאֶת־ (ve’et) – Root: את (ʾ-t); Form: Conjunction וְ + direct object marker; Translation: “and”; Notes: Marks the object following.
- יְהוָ֞ה (YHWH) – Root: היה (h-y-h); Form: Proper name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Divine name; never rendered as “Lord.”
- אֱלֹהֵ֤י (Elohei) – Root: אלה (ʾ-l-h); Form: Construct noun masculine plural; Translation: “God of”; Notes: In construct with “the heavens.”
- הַשָּׁמַ֨יִם֙ (ha-shamayim) – Root: שׁמה (sh-m-h); Form: Definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “the heavens”; Notes: Cosmic title emphasizing sovereignty.
- אֲנִ֣י (ani) – Root: אננ (ʾ-n-n); Form: Independent pronoun 1cs; Translation: “I”; Notes: Introduces the key confession.
- יָרֵ֔א (yare) – Root: ירא (y-r-ʾ); Form: Qal participle ms; Translation: “fear”; Notes: Denotes reverence and allegiance.
- אֲשֶׁר־ (asher) – Root: אשר (ʾ-sh-r); Form: Relative particle; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces relative clause describing YHWH’s actions.
- עָשָׂ֥ה (asah) – Root: עשה (ʿ-s-h); Form: Qal perfect 3ms; Translation: “made”; Notes: Refers to YHWH’s creative authority.
- אֶת־ (et) – Root: את (ʾ-t); Form: Direct object marker; Translation: —; Notes: Marks “the sea.”
- הַיָּ֖ם (ha-yam) – Root: ים (y-m-m); Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the sea”; Notes: Domain of the storm.
- וְאֶת־ (ve’et) – Root: את (ʾ-t); Form: Conjunction + direct object marker; Translation: “and”; Notes: Marks next object.
- הַיַּבָּשָֽׁה (ha-yabbashah) – Root: יבשׁ (y-b-sh); Form: Definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “the dry land”; Notes: Contrasts with the sea to express total creative authority.