וַיְהִ֥י דְבַר־יְהוָ֖ה אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר׃
And the word of YHWH came to me, saying,
Morphology
- וַיְהִי (va-yehi) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And it came to be”; Notes: Typical prophetic narrative introduction, marking the arrival of revelation.
- דְבַר (devar) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “word of”; Notes: In construct with YHWH, identifies the divine message.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: הוה (havah); Form: Proper noun, Tetragrammaton; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The covenantal name of God, source of the message.
- אֵלַי (ʾelay) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition + 1cs suffix; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Identifies Ezekiel as the recipient of the revelation.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Preposition + infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Standard formula introducing direct speech in prophetic texts.