וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כֹּ֤ה תֹאמַר֙ לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה שְׁלָחַ֥נִי אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃
And God said to Moshe, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Yisra’el, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (vayomer) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Verb, Qal, imperfect, 3ms with vav consecutive; Translation: “And He said”; Notes: Elohim is the speaker here.
- אֱלֹהִים֙ (Elohim) – Root: אלה (ʾ-l-h); Form: Noun, mp; Translation: “Elohim”; Notes: Refers to God in this passage.
- אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה (el-Moshe) – Root: N/A; Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “to Moshe”; Notes: Directs the speech to Moshe.
- אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה (ehyeh) – Root: היה (h-y-h); Form: Verb, Qal, imperfect, 1cs; Translation: “I AM”; Notes: Expresses God’s eternal self-existence.
- אֲשֶׁ֣ר (asher) – Root: N/A; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “WHO”; Notes: Links the two occurrences of “I AM.”
- אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה (ehyeh) – Root: היה (h-y-h); Form: Verb, Qal, imperfect, 1cs; Translation: “I AM”; Notes: Reiterates the self-identification of God.
- וַיֹּ֗אמֶר (vayomer) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Verb, Qal, imperfect, 3ms with vav consecutive; Translation: “And He said”; Notes: Introduces God’s instruction to Moshe.
- כֹּ֤ה (koh) – Root: N/A; Form: Adverb; Translation: “Thus”; Notes: Indicates how Moshe should address the Israelites.
- תֹאמַר֙ (toʾmar) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Verb, Qal, imperfect, 2ms; Translation: “you shall say”; Notes: Command to Moshe.
- לִבְנֵ֣י (livnei) – Root: בן (b-n); Form: Preposition + noun, mp construct; Translation: “to the children of”; Notes: Refers to the descendants of Israel.
- יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל (Yisra’el) – Root: N/A; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: Denotes the covenant people of God.
- אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה (ehyeh) – Root: היה (h-y-h); Form: Verb, Qal, imperfect, 1cs; Translation: “I AM”; Notes: God’s declaration of His identity.
- שְׁלָחַ֥נִי (shelachani) – Root: שלח (sh-l-ḥ); Form: Verb, Qal, perfect, 3ms + 1cs suffix; Translation: “has sent me”; Notes: Indicates God’s mission for Moshe.
- אֲלֵיכֶֽם (aleikhem) – Root: N/A; Form: Preposition + 2mp suffix; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Directs the message to the children of Israel.