וַיְהִ֛י דְּבַר־יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֹ֖ות אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר׃
And the word of YHWH of Hosts came to me, saying,
Morphology
- וַיְהִי (va-yehi) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And it was”; Notes: Standard narrative introduction to a prophetic message.
- דְּבַר (devar) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “word of”; Notes: Appears frequently in prophetic formulas.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: הוה (havah); Form: Proper name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Subject of the prophetic speech formula.
- צְבָאוֹת (tzevaʾot) – Root: צבא (tzevaʾ); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “of hosts”; Notes: Divine epithet emphasizing sovereignty.
- אֵלַי (elai) – Root: אל (el); Form: Preposition אֶל + suffix 1st person singular; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Marks the prophet as the recipient of the divine message.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר (amar); Form: Preposition לְ + Qal infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces the content of the forthcoming speech.