וַיֹּ֕אמֶר הִנֵּ֣ה שָׁמַ֔עְתִּי כִּ֥י יֶשׁ־שֶׁ֖בֶר בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם רְדוּ־שָׁ֨מָּה֙ וְשִׁבְרוּ־לָ֣נוּ מִשָּׁ֔ם וְנִחְיֶ֖ה וְלֹ֥א נָמֽוּת׃
And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Mitsrayim. Go down there and buy for us from there, so that we may live and not die.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֕אמֶר (vayomer) – Root: אָמַר (amar); Form: Verb, Qal, Consecutive Imperfect, 3ms; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Introduces the speech of Yaʿaqov.
- הִנֵּ֣ה (hinneh) – Form: Interjection; Translation: “Behold”; Notes: Used to draw attention to the statement following.
- שָׁמַ֔עְתִּי (shamati) – Root: שָׁמַע (shama); Form: Verb, Qal, Perfect, 1cs; Translation: “I have heard”; Notes: Refers to Yaʿaqov’s knowledge of the situation in Egypt.
- כִּ֥י (ki) – Form: Conjunction; Translation: “that”; Notes: Introduces the reason behind the action.
- יֶשׁ־שֶׁ֖בֶר (yesh-shever) – Root: שֶׁבֶר (shever); Form: Noun, ms; Translation: “there is grain”; Notes: Indicates the presence of provision in Egypt.
- בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם (be-Mitzrayim) – Root: מִצְרַיִם (Mitzrayim); Form: Proper noun with preposition; Translation: “in Egypt”; Notes: Specifies the location where grain is available.
- רְדוּ־שָׁ֨מָּה֙ (redu-shammah) – Root: יָרַד (yarad); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperative, 2mp + adverb; Translation: “Go down there”; Notes: Command to the sons to go to Egypt.
- וְשִׁבְרוּ־לָ֣נוּ (veshivru-lanu) – Root: שָׁבַר (shavar); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperative, 2mp + pronoun; Translation: “and buy for us”; Notes: Command to obtain grain on behalf of the family.
- מִשָּׁ֔ם (mi-sham) – Form: Preposition + adverb; Translation: “from there”; Notes: Specifies the source of the grain.
- וְנִחְיֶ֖ה (venichyeh) – Root: חָיָה (chayah); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 1cp; Translation: “so that we may live”; Notes: Expresses the purpose of the action.
- וְלֹ֥א נָמֽוּת (velo namut) – Root: מוּת (mut); Form: Conjunction + verb, Qal, Imperfect, 1cp; Translation: “and not die”; Notes: Provides further purpose, emphasizing survival.