וַהֲשִׁבֹ֨תִי֙ אֶת־יָדִ֔י וָאַ֖עַשׂ לְמַ֣עַן שְׁמִ֑י לְבִלְתִּ֤י הֵחֵל֙ לְעֵינֵ֣י הַגֹּויִ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־הֹוצֵ֥אתִי אֹותָ֖ם לְעֵינֵיהֶֽם׃
And I withdrew My hand, and I acted for the sake of My name, so that it should not be profaned before the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had brought them out.
Morphology
- וַהֲשִׁבֹתִי – Root: שׁוּב; Form: Hifil wayyiqtol 1cs; Translation: “And I withdrew”; Notes: Indicates God’s restraint of His hand from full judgment.
- אֶת־יָדִי – Root: יָד; Form: Direct object marker + noun feminine singular + 1cs suffix; Translation: “my hand”; Notes: Metaphor for divine power or action.
- וָאַעַשׂ – Root: עָשָׂה; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 1cs; Translation: “and I acted”; Notes: God’s deliberate intervention for His reputation.
- לְמַעַן – Form: Preposition; Translation: “for the sake of”; Notes: Expresses divine motivation.
- שְׁמִי – Root: שֵׁם; Form: Noun masculine singular + 1cs suffix; Translation: “my name”; Notes: Refers to YHWH’s reputation among the nations.
- לְבִלְתִּי – Form: Preposition לְ + infinitive construct of בִּלְתִּי; Translation: “so that not”; Notes: Negates the infinitive that follows.
- הֵחֵל – Root: חָלַל; Form: Hifil infinitive construct; Translation: “to profane”; Notes: Refers to desecration of God’s name.
- לְעֵינֵי – Root: עַיִן; Form: Preposition לְ + noun feminine dual construct; Translation: “before the eyes of”; Notes: Public visibility of divine actions.
- הַגֹּויִם – Root: גּוֹי; Form: Definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “the nations”; Notes: Foreign peoples observing Israel and YHWH’s dealings with them.
- אֲשֶׁר – Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “whom”; Notes: Introduces relative clause.
- הֹוצֵאתִי – Root: יָצָא; Form: Hifil perfect 1cs; Translation: “I had brought out”; Notes: Refers to God’s deliverance from Mitsrayim.
- אֹותָם – Form: Object pronoun 3mp; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to the people of Yisraʾel.
- לְעֵינֵיהֶם – Root: עַיִן; Form: Preposition לְ + noun feminine dual + 3mp suffix; Translation: “before their eyes”; Notes: Emphasizes that God’s acts were visible and undeniable.