וַיַּחְפְּר֧וּ כָל־מִצְרַ֛יִם סְבִיבֹ֥ת הַיְאֹ֖ר מַ֣יִם לִשְׁתֹּ֑ות כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יָֽכְלוּ֙ לִשְׁתֹּ֔ת מִמֵּימֵ֖י הַיְאֹֽר׃
And all of Mitsrayim dug around the River for water to drink, for they could not drink from the water of the River.
Morphology
- וַיַּחְפְּר֧וּ (vayachperu) – Root: חפר (ḥ-p-r); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3mp with vav consecutive; Translation: “And they dug”; Notes: Indicates an act of digging or searching.
- כָל־מִצְרַ֛יִם (kol-Mitzrayim) – Root: מצר (m-ṣ-r); Form: Noun, construct ms + proper noun; Translation: “All of Egypt”; Notes: Refers to the Egyptian people.
- סְבִיבֹ֥ת (sevivot) – Root: סבב (s-b-b); Form: Noun, fp construct; Translation: “Around”; Notes: Indicates the surrounding area.
- הַיְאֹ֖ר (ha-ye’or) – Root: יאור (y-ʾ-r); Form: Noun, ms with definite article; Translation: “The Nile”; Notes: Refers to the main river in Egypt.
- מַ֣יִם (mayim) – Root: N/A; Form: Noun, mp; Translation: “Water”; Notes: Essential resource sought by the Egyptians.
- לִשְׁתֹּ֑ות (lishtot) – Root: שתה (sh-t-h); Form: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct; Translation: “To drink”; Notes: Expresses the purpose of the action.
- כִּ֣י (ki) – Root: N/A; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “For”; Notes: Provides a reason or explanation.
- לֹ֤א יָֽכְלוּ֙ (lo yakhelu) – Root: יכל (y-k-l); Form: Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3mp with negation; Translation: “They could not”; Notes: Indicates inability or restriction.
- לִשְׁתֹּ֔ת (lishtot) – Root: שתה (sh-t-h); Form: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct; Translation: “To drink”; Notes: Reiterates the focus on drinking water.
- מִמֵּימֵ֖י (mimeimei) – Root: מים (m-y-m); Form: Noun, mp construct with preposition; Translation: “From the water of”; Notes: Refers specifically to the Nile’s water.
- הַיְאֹֽר (ha-ye’or) – Root: יאור (y-ʾ-r); Form: Noun, ms with definite article; Translation: “The Nile”; Notes: Identifies the source of undrinkable water.