כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֣ה צְבָאֹ֑ות שְׁאַל־נָ֧א אֶת־הַכֹּהֲנִ֛ים תֹּורָ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃
“Thus says YHWH of Hosts: ‘Ask, please, the priests for instruction, saying:
Morphology
- כֹּה (koh) – Root: —; Form: Adverb; Translation: “thus”; Notes: Standard prophetic speech formula opening.
- אָמַר (amar) – Root: אמר (’amar); Form: Qal perfect 3ms; Translation: “said”; Notes: Refers to YHWH’s spoken declaration.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: הוה (hwh); Form: Proper divine name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Covenant name of Israel’s God.
- צְבָאֹות (tseva’ot) – Root: צבא (tsavaʾ); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “of Hosts”; Notes: Military epithet highlighting divine sovereignty.
- שְׁאַל (she’al) – Root: שׁאל (sha’al); Form: Qal imperative masculine singular; Translation: “ask”; Notes: Direct instruction to the prophet Ḥaggai.
- ־נָא (na) – Root: —; Form: Particle of entreaty; Translation: “please”; Notes: Softens the imperative, expressing divine courtesy.
- אֶת־ (’et) – Root: את (’et); Form: Direct object marker; Translation: — ; Notes: Marks “the priests” as the direct object.
- הַכֹּהֲנִים (ha-kohanim) – Root: כהן (khn); Form: Definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “the priests”; Notes: Priests serve as halakhic authorities in matters of ritual purity.
- תֹּורָה (torah) – Root: ירה (yrh); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “instruction”; Notes: Here means legal ruling or priestly decision, not the entire Torah.
- לֵאמֹר (le’emor) – Root: אמר (’amar); Form: Preposition לְ + infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces the content of the inquiry to be posed to the priests.