וַיִּצְעַ֤ק מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה לֵאמֹ֔ר מָ֥ה אֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה לָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֑ה עֹ֥וד מְעַ֖ט וּסְקָלֻֽנִי׃
And Moshe cried out to YHWH, saying, “What shall I do with this people? A little more, and they will stone me!”
Morphology
- וַיִּצְעַ֤ק (vayitsʿaq) – Root: צעק (ts-ʿ-q); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3ms with vav consecutive; Translation: “And he cried out”; Notes: Indicates Moshe’s urgent appeal to YHWH.
- מֹשֶׁה֙ (Moshe) – Root: N/A; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Moshe”; Notes: The subject of the verb.
- אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה (el-YHWH) – Root: אל (ʾ-l); Form: Preposition + Proper noun; Translation: “To YHWH”; Notes: Identifies the recipient of Moshe’s cry.
- לֵאמֹ֔ר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Infinitive construct with preposition; Translation: “Saying”; Notes: Introduces the content of Moshe’s plea.
- מָ֥ה (mah) – Root: N/A; Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “What”; Notes: Expresses Moshe’s uncertainty.
- אֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה (eʿeseh) – Root: עשה (ʿ-s-h); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 1cs; Translation: “Shall I do”; Notes: Indicates Moshe’s proposed action.
- לָעָ֣ם (laʿam) – Root: עם (ʿ-m); Form: Preposition + Noun, masculine singular absolute with definite article; Translation: “For the people”; Notes: Refers to the children of Yisra’el.
- הַזֶּ֑ה (hazzeh) – Root: N/A; Form: Demonstrative pronoun, masculine singular; Translation: “This”; Notes: Points specifically to the people in question.
- עֹ֥וד (ʿod) – Root: N/A; Form: Adverb; Translation: “A little more”; Notes: Expresses the urgency of the situation.
- מְעַ֖ט (meʿat) – Root: מעט (m-ʿ-t); Form: Noun, masculine singular absolute; Translation: “Little”; Notes: Adds emphasis to the immediacy.
- וּסְקָלֻֽנִי׃ (uskaluni) – Root: סקל (s-q-l); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3mp + 1cs suffix with vav consecutive; Translation: “And they will stone me”; Notes: Reflects Moshe’s fear of the people’s hostility.