וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֜ם יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל אֲבִיהֶ֗ם אִם־כֵּ֣ן אֵפֹוא֮ זֹ֣את עֲשׂוּ֒ קְח֞וּ מִזִּמְרַ֤ת הָאָ֨רֶץ֙ בִּכְלֵיכֶ֔ם וְהֹורִ֥ידוּ לָאִ֖ישׁ מִנְחָ֑ה מְעַ֤ט צֳרִי֙ וּמְעַ֣ט דְּבַ֔שׁ נְכֹ֣את וָלֹ֔ט בָּטְנִ֖ים וּשְׁקֵדִֽים׃
And Yisra’el, their father, said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take from the best of the land in your vessels, and carry down as a gift to the man—a little balm, a little honey, spices, myrrh, pistachios, and almonds.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֨אמֶר (vayomer) – Root: אמר (amar); Form: Verb, Qal, Consecutive Imperfect, 3ms; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Indicates Yisra’el’s speech to his sons.
- אֲלֵהֶ֜ם (alehem) – Root: אֶל (el); Form: Preposition with 3mp suffix; Translation: “to them”; Notes: Refers to Yisra’el’s sons as the recipients of his instruction.
- יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל (Yisra’el) – Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisra’el); Form: Proper noun, ms; Translation: “Yisra’el”; Notes: The name of Yaakov, representing the patriarch.
- אֲבִיהֶ֗ם (avihem) – Root: אָב (av); Form: Noun, ms with 3mp suffix; Translation: “their father”; Notes: Indicates Yisra’el as the father of the speakers.
- אִם־כֵּ֣ן (im ken) – Root: כֵּן (ken); Form: Conditional particle; Translation: “If it must be so”; Notes: Used to introduce Yisra’el’s conditional instruction.
- אֵפֹוא֮ (efo) – Form: Particle; Translation: “then”; Notes: Adds emphasis to the conditional statement.
- זֹ֣את (zot) – Root: זֶה (zeh); Form: Demonstrative pronoun, fs; Translation: “this”; Notes: Refers to the specific action Yisra’el instructs.
- עֲשׂוּ֒ (asu) – Root: עָשָׂה (asah); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperative, mp; Translation: “do”; Notes: Yisra’el’s command to his sons to perform the following action.
- קְח֞וּ (kechu) – Root: לָקַח (lakach); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperative, mp; Translation: “take”; Notes: Directs the sons to gather items for the gift.
- מִזִּמְרַ֤ת (mizimrat) – Root: זִמְרָה (zimrah); Form: Noun, fs construct; Translation: “from the best”; Notes: Refers to the finest produce of the land.
- הָאָ֨רֶץ֙ (ha’aretz) – Root: אֶרֶץ (eretz); Form: Noun, fs with definite article; Translation: “of the land”; Notes: Indicates the origin of the items being gathered.
- בִּכְלֵיכֶ֔ם (bikleychem) – Root: כְּלִי (kli); Form: Noun, mp with 2mp suffix; Translation: “in your vessels”; Notes: Specifies the containers for transporting the items.
- וְהֹורִ֥ידוּ (vehoridu) – Root: יָרַד (yarad); Form: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, mp; Translation: “and carry down”; Notes: Command for the action of bringing the gift to Egypt.
- לָאִ֖ישׁ (la’ish) – Root: אִישׁ (ish); Form: Noun, ms with preposition; Translation: “to the man”; Notes: Refers to Yosef, the recipient of the gift.
- מִנְחָ֑ה (mincha) – Root: מִנְחָה (mincha); Form: Noun, fs; Translation: “a gift”; Notes: The nature of the items being sent to Yosef.
- מְעַ֤ט (me’at) – Root: מְעַט (me’at); Form: Noun, ms; Translation: “a little”; Notes: Describes the modest amount of each item.
- צֳרִי֙ (tzori) – Root: צֳרִי (tzori); Form: Noun, ms; Translation: “balm”; Notes: A valuable product of the land.
- וּמְעַ֣ט (ume’at) – Root: מְעַט (me’at); Form: Conjunction + Noun, ms; Translation: “and a little”; Notes: Indicates the additional small amounts of items.
- דְּבַ֔שׁ (devash) – Root: דְּבַשׁ (devash); Form: Noun, ms; Translation: “honey”; Notes: Another valuable produce of the land.
- נְכֹ֣את (ne-kot) – Root: נכת (neket); Form: noun, fs; Translation: “gum”; Notes: A valuable aromatic resin.
- וָלֹ֔ט (va-lot) – Root: לט (lot); Form: noun, ms; Translation: “myrrh”; Notes: An aromatic resin used in perfumes and medicine.
- בָּטְנִ֖ים (ba-te-nim) – Root: בטן (boten); Form: noun, mp; Translation: “pistachios”; Notes: Nut product, part of the choice produce of the land.
- וּשְׁקֵדִֽים (u-she-ke-dim) – Root: שקד (shaked); Form: noun, mp; Translation: “almonds”; Notes: Another valued product included in the gift.