וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ אֵלָ֖יו לֹ֣א אֲדֹנִ֑י וַעֲבָדֶ֥יךָ בָּ֖אוּ לִשְׁבָּר־אֹֽכֶל׃
And they said to him, “No, my lord; your servants have come to buy food.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ (vayomru) – Root: אָמַר (amar); Form: Verb, Qal, Consecutive Imperfect, 3mp; Translation: “And they said”; Notes: Indicates a response from Yosef’s brothers.
- אֵלָ֖יו (elav) – Root: אֵל (el); Form: Preposition with 3ms suffix; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Refers to Yosef as the one being addressed.
- לֹ֣א (lo) – Form: Particle of negation; Translation: “No”; Notes: Expresses a denial of Yosef’s accusation.
- אֲדֹנִ֑י (adoni) – Root: אָדוֹן (adon); Form: Noun, ms with 1cs suffix; Translation: “my lord”; Notes: Polite address directed toward Yosef.
- וַעֲבָדֶ֥יךָ (va’avadekha) – Root: עֶבֶד (eved); Form: Noun, mp with 2ms suffix; Translation: “your servants”; Notes: Refers to the speakers (Yosef’s brothers) as his servants.
- בָּ֖אוּ (bau) – Root: בּוֹא (bo); Form: Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3mp; Translation: “have come”; Notes: Indicates the action of arriving.
- לִשְׁבָּר־אֹֽכֶל (lishbor-okhel) – Root: שָׁבַר (shavar); Form: Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct + Noun, ms; Translation: “to buy food”; Notes: Expresses the purpose of their journey.