וַיַּֽעֲשׂוּ־כֵ֗ן וַיֵּט֩ אַהֲרֹ֨ן אֶת־יָדֹ֤ו בְמַטֵּ֨הוּ֙ וַיַּךְ֙ אֶת־עֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֔רֶץ וַתְּהִי֙ הַכִּנָּ֔ם בָּאָדָ֖ם וּבַבְּהֵמָ֑ה כָּל־עֲפַ֥ר הָאָ֛רֶץ הָיָ֥ה כִנִּ֖ים בְּכָל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
And they did so, and Aharon stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the land, and it became gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the land became gnats throughout all the land of Mitsrayim.
Morphology
- וַיַּֽעֲשׂוּ־כֵ֗ן (vayyaʿasu-khen) – Root: עשה (ʿ-s-h); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3mp with vav consecutive; Translation: “And they did so”; Notes: Refers to following the command of YHWH.
- וַיֵּט֩ (vayyēt) – Root: נטה (n-t-h); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3ms with vav consecutive; Translation: “And he stretched out”; Notes: Describes Aharon’s action.
- אַהֲרֹ֨ן (Aharon) – Root: N/A; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Aharon”; Notes: Refers to the brother of Moshe.
- אֶת־יָדֹ֤ו (et-yado) – Root: יד (y-d); Form: Noun, fs with direct object marker and 3ms suffix; Translation: “His hand”; Notes: Indicates Aharon’s extended hand.
- בְמַטֵּ֨הוּ֙ (be-mattehu) – Root: מטה (m-t-h); Form: Noun, ms with preposition and 3ms suffix; Translation: “With his staff”; Notes: Refers to Aharon’s staff.
- וַיַּךְ֙ (vayyakh) – Root: נכה (n-k-h); Form: Verb, Hiphil, Imperfect, 3ms with vav consecutive; Translation: “And he struck”; Notes: Describes Aharon’s action of striking the dust.
- אֶת־עֲפַ֣ר (et-ʿafar) – Root: עפר (ʿ-ʿ-p-r); Form: Noun, ms with direct object marker; Translation: “The dust of”; Notes: Refers to the soil of the land.
- הָאָ֔רֶץ (ha-aretz) – Root: ארץ (ʾ-r-ts); Form: Noun, fs with definite article; Translation: “The land”; Notes: Refers to Egypt.
- וַתְּהִי֙ (vattihi) – Root: היה (h-y-h); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3fs with vav consecutive; Translation: “And it became”; Notes: Indicates transformation.
- הַכִּנָּ֔ם (ha-kinnam) – Root: כנה (k-n-n); Form: Noun, fs with definite article; Translation: “Gnats”; Notes: Refers to small pests.
- בָּאָדָ֖ם (ba-adam) – Root: אדם (ʾ-d-m); Form: Noun, ms with preposition; Translation: “On man”; Notes: Indicates humans affected.
- וּבַבְּהֵמָ֑ה (u-va-behema) – Root: בהמה (b-h-m-h); Form: Noun, fs with conjunction and preposition; Translation: “And on beast”; Notes: Refers to animals.
- כָּל־עֲפַ֥ר (kol-ʿafar) – Root: כל (k-l) + עפר (ʿ-ʿ-p-r); Form: Noun, ms construct with prefix; Translation: “All the dust of”; Notes: Refers to the entirety of the soil.
- הָאָ֛רֶץ (ha-aretz) – Root: ארץ (ʾ-r-ts); Form: Noun, fs with definite article; Translation: “The land”; Notes: Specifies Egypt.
- הָיָ֥ה (hayah) – Root: היה (h-y-h); Form: Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3ms; Translation: “Became”; Notes: Indicates the outcome.
- כִנִּ֖ים (kinnim) – Root: כנה (k-n-n); Form: Noun, fp; Translation: “Gnats”; Notes: Plural form referring to the infestation.
- בְּכָל־אֶ֥רֶץ (be-khol-eretz) – Root: כל (k-l) + ארץ (ʾ-r-ts); Form: Preposition + noun, fs construct; Translation: “Throughout all the land of”; Notes: Indicates the widespread nature.
- מִצְרָֽיִם (Mitsrayim) – Root: N/A; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: The affected region.