וְאַתָּ֣ה אָמַ֔רְתָּ הֵיטֵ֥ב אֵיטִ֖יב עִמָּ֑ךְ וְשַׂמְתִּ֤י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ כְּחֹ֣ול הַיָּ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־יִסָּפֵ֖ר מֵרֹֽב׃
But You said, ‘I will surely do good with you, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted for multitude.’”
Morphology
- וְאַתָּ֣ה (wəʾattāh) – Root: אתה (ʾattāh); Form: Pronoun, 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “And You”; Notes: Emphasizes the divine speaker.
- אָמַ֔רְתָּ (ʾāmarta) – Root: אמר (ʾāmar); Form: Qal perfect 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “You said”; Notes: Refers to God’s previous promise.
- הֵיטֵ֥ב (hēṭēv) – Root: יטב (yāṭav); Form: Hifil infinitive absolute; Translation: “Surely”; Notes: Strengthens the following verb.
- אֵיטִ֖יב (ʾēṭīv) – Root: יטב (yāṭav); Form: Hifil imperfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I will do good”; Notes: Expresses divine blessing.
- עִמָּ֑ךְ (ʿimmākh) – Root: עם (ʿim); Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “with you”; Notes: Indicates divine favor toward Yaʿaqov.
- וְשַׂמְתִּ֤י (wəśamtī) – Root: שם (śām); Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “And I will make”; Notes: Refers to a divine promise.
- אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ (ʾet-zarʿăkha) – Root: זרע (zeraʿ); Form: Definite direct object marker + noun, masculine singular construct + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “your offspring”; Notes: Refers to Yaʿaqov’s descendants.
- כְּחֹ֣ול (kəḥōl) – Root: חול (ḥōl); Form: Preposition + noun, masculine singular; Translation: “like the sand”; Notes: Metaphor for great numbers.
- הַיָּ֔ם (hayyām) – Root: ים (yām); Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “of the sea”; Notes: Defines the metaphor.
- אֲשֶׁ֥ר (ʾăsher) – Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “which”; Notes: Introduces the clause describing the sand.
- לֹא־יִסָּפֵ֖ר (lōʾ-yissāfēr) – Root: ספר (sāfar); Form: Nifal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “cannot be counted”; Notes: Expresses the immeasurable number of Yaʿaqov’s descendants.
- מֵרֹֽב׃ (mērōv) – Root: רוב (rōv); Form: Preposition + noun, masculine singular; Translation: “for multitude”; Notes: Indicates vast quantity.