וּבְבֹאָ֑הּ הִנֵּ֣ה בָאָ֔ה וְיָ֣דְע֔וּ כִּ֥י נָבִ֖יא הָיָ֥ה בְתֹוכָֽם׃ ס
And when it comes, behold, it has come, then they shall know that a prophet has been among them.
Morphology
- וּבְבֹאָהּ (u-ve-voʾah) – Root: בוא (boʾ); Form: Conjunction וְ + preposition בְּ + infinitive construct with 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “and when it comes”; Notes: Refers to the fulfillment of the prophetic word—expressed with the infinitive construct of boʾ, used temporally (“when”). The feminine suffix refers back to the “word” (דָּבָר) of YHWH.
- הִנֵּה (hinneh) – Root: —; Form: Interjection; Translation: “behold”; Notes: Draws emphatic attention to the certainty and immediacy of the event; an indicator of prophetic assurance.
- בָאָה (baʾah) – Root: בוא (boʾ); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “it has come”; Notes: Repetition of the verb underscores prophetic certainty—what YHWH declares is as good as fulfilled.
- וְיָדְעוּ (ve-yadʿu) – Root: ידע (yadaʿ); Form: Conjunction וְ + Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “and they shall know”; Notes: A prophetic formula in Yeḥezqel—knowledge of YHWH’s truth comes through fulfilled judgment or prophecy.
- כִּי (ki) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “that”; Notes: Introduces the content of their realization after fulfillment of the prophecy.
- נָבִיא (naviʾ) – Root: נבא (nabaʾ); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a prophet”; Notes: The prophetic office confirmed through the fulfillment of divine words—YHWH vindicates His messenger.
- הָיָה (hayah) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “was”; Notes: Past perfect sense—“had been”—emphasizing that only after the event will they recognize the true prophet’s presence among them.
- בְתֹוכָם (be-tokham) – Root: תוך (tokh); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular construct + suffix 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “among them”; Notes: Concludes the statement with irony—the prophet’s legitimacy was only acknowledged too late, when he had already been in their midst.