וַיְהִ֣י בִּשְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים שָׁנָ֗ה בָּֽרְבִיעִי֙ בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֣ה לַחֹ֔דֶשׁ וַאֲנִ֥י בְתֹֽוךְ־הַגֹּולָ֖ה עַל־נְהַר־כְּבָ֑ר נִפְתְּחוּ֙ הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וָאֶרְאֶ֖ה מַרְאֹ֥ות אֱלֹהִֽים׃
And it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth, on the fifth of the month, and I was in the midst of the exile by the river Kevar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
Morphology
- וַיְהִי (va-yehi) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And it came to pass”; Notes: Common narrative opening indicating the beginning of a prophetic vision.
- בִּשְׁלֹשִׁים (bishloshim) – Root: שלש (shalosh); Form: Preposition + numeral masculine plural; Translation: “in the thirtieth”; Notes: Possibly referring to Ezekiel’s age or a calendrical date.
- שָׁנָה (shanah) – Root: שנה (shanah); Form: Noun feminine singular absolute; Translation: “year”; Notes: Completes the temporal expression.
- בָּרְבִיעִי (ba-reviʿi) – Root: רבע (ravaʿ); Form: Preposition + ordinal masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “in the fourth”; Notes: Likely refers to the fourth month.
- בַּחֲמִשָּׁה (ba-ḥamishah) – Root: חמש (ḥamesh); Form: Preposition + numeral masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “on the fifth”; Notes: Refers to the fifth day of the month.
- לַחֹדֶשׁ (la-ḥodesh) – Root: חדש (ḥodesh); Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “of the month”; Notes: Completes the date formula.
- וַאֲנִי (va-ani) – Root: Pronoun; Form: Conjunction + 1st person singular pronoun; Translation: “and I”; Notes: Introduces the narrator, the prophet Yeḥezqel (Ezekiel).
- בְתֹוךְ (be-tokh) – Root: תוך (tokh); Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “in the midst of”; Notes: Indicates spatial position among the exiles.
- הַגֹּולָה (ha-golah) – Root: גלה (galah); Form: Definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “the exile”; Notes: Refers to the exiled community in Bavel.
- עַל־נְהַר־כְּבָר (ʿal-nehar-Kevar) – Root: נהר (nahar), כבר (Kevar); Form: Preposition + construct noun + proper noun; Translation: “by the River Kevar”; Notes: Location of the vision, possibly a canal near Nippur in Babylonia.
- נִפְתְּחוּ (nifteḥu) – Root: פתח (pataḥ); Form: Niphal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “were opened”; Notes: Passive form indicating divine initiative—opening of the heavens.
- הַשָּׁמַיִם (ha-shamayim) – Root: שמים (shamayim); Form: Definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “the heavens”; Notes: Plural form often used for the sky or divine realm.
- וָאֶרְאֶה (va-erʾeh) – Root: ראה (raʾah); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 1st person masculine singular; Translation: “and I saw”; Notes: Marks the beginning of a prophetic vision.
- מַרְאֹות (marʾot) – Root: מראה (marʾeh); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “visions”; Notes: Refers to revelatory experiences given by Elohim.
- אֱלֹהִים (Elohim) – Root: אלה (ʾeloh); Form: Proper noun, masculine plural in form but grammatically singular; Translation: “God”; Notes: Denotes the God of Yisraʾel, supreme deity.