וַיִּרְא֣וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּ אִ֤ישׁ אֶל־אָחִיו֙ מָ֣ן ה֔וּא כִּ֛י לֹ֥א יָדְע֖וּ מַה־ה֑וּא וַיֹּ֤אמֶר מֹשֶׁה֙ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם ה֣וּא הַלֶּ֔חֶם אֲשֶׁ֨ר נָתַ֧ן יְהוָ֛ה לָכֶ֖ם לְאָכְלָֽה׃
The children of Yisra’el saw it and said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moshe said to them, “It is the bread that YHWH has given you to eat.”
Morphology
- וַיִּרְא֣וּ (vayyirʾu) – Root: ראה (r-ʾ-h); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3mp with vav consecutive; Translation: “And they saw”; Notes: Describes the reaction of the children of Yisra’el.
- בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל (venei-Yisra’el) – Root: בן (b-n); Form: Noun, masculine plural construct + Proper noun; Translation: “The children of Yisra’el”; Notes: Refers to the people of Yisra’el.
- וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּ (vayyomru) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3mp with vav consecutive; Translation: “And they said”; Notes: Indicates their verbal response.
- אִ֤ישׁ (ʾish) – Root: אישׁ (ʾ-y-sh); Form: Noun, masculine singular absolute; Translation: “A man”; Notes: Refers to an individual person.
- אֶל־אָחִיו֙ (el-ʾaḥiv) – Root: אח (ʾ-ḥ); Form: Preposition + Noun, masculine singular construct + 3ms suffix; Translation: “To his brother”; Notes: Indicates the communication among the people.
- מָ֣ן (man) – Root: N/A; Form: Interjection; Translation: “What?”; Notes: Expresses their confusion.
- ה֔וּא (hu) – Root: N/A; Form: Pronoun, masculine singular; Translation: “Is it”; Notes: Refers to the unknown substance.
- כִּ֛י (ki) – Root: N/A; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “For”; Notes: Introduces the explanation.
- לֹ֥א (lo) – Root: N/A; Form: Particle; Translation: “Not”; Notes: Negates the following verb.
- יָדְע֖וּ (yadaʿu) – Root: ידע (y-d-ʿ); Form: Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3mp; Translation: “They knew”; Notes: Indicates their lack of understanding.
- מַה־ה֑וּא (mah-hu) – Root: מה (m-h); Form: Interrogative pronoun + Pronoun, masculine singular; Translation: “What it was”; Notes: Expresses their uncertainty.
- וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (vayyoʾmer) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3ms with vav consecutive; Translation: “And said”; Notes: Marks Moshe’s response.
- מֹשֶׁה֙ (Moshe) – Root: N/A; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Moshe”; Notes: Refers to the leader of Yisra’el.
- אֲלֵהֶ֔ם (alehem) – Root: אל (ʾ-l); Form: Preposition + 3mp suffix; Translation: “To them”; Notes: Indicates Moshe addressing the people.
- ה֣וּא (hu) – Root: N/A; Form: Pronoun, masculine singular; Translation: “It is”; Notes: Refers to the bread.
- הַלֶּ֔חֶם (halleḥem) – Root: לחם (l-ḥ-m); Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “The bread”; Notes: Identifies the substance.
- אֲשֶׁ֨ר (ʾasher) – Root: N/A; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “That”; Notes: Connects to the following clause.
- נָתַ֧ן (natan) – Root: נתן (n-t-n); Form: Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3ms; Translation: “Has given”; Notes: Attributes the action to YHWH.
- יְהוָ֛ה (YHWH) – Root: N/A; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Refers to the divine giver.
- לָכֶ֖ם (lakhem) – Root: ל (l); Form: Preposition + 2mp suffix; Translation: “To you”; Notes: Indicates the recipients.
- לְאָכְלָֽה (leʾokhlah) – Root: אכל (ʾ-k-l); Form: Infinitive construct with preposition; Translation: “To eat”; Notes: Describes the purpose of the bread.