וַיְהִ֥י דְבַר־יְהוָ֖ה אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר׃
And the word of YHWH came to me, saying,
Morphology
- וַיְהִי (va-yehi) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Conjunction וַ + Qal wayyiqtol (imperfect consecutive) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and it came to pass”; Notes: Common narrative formula introducing a new divine communication or event; the wayyiqtol (sequential imperfect) indicates continuity in narrative flow.
- דְבַר־יְהוָה (devar-YHWH) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Noun masculine singular construct + divine proper noun; Translation: “the word of YHWH”; Notes: A standard prophetic expression denoting divine revelation or oracle.
- אֵלַי (ʾelai) – Root: —; Form: Preposition אֶל + suffix 1st person singular; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Marks the prophet as the recipient of YHWH’s communication.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾmor) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Preposition לְ + infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces direct speech or quotation; a fixed syntactical marker following verbs of communication in biblical Hebrew narrative.