וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לָהֶם֙ יֹוסֵ֔ף מָֽה־הַמַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה הַזֶּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר עֲשִׂיתֶ֑ם הֲלֹ֣וא יְדַעְתֶּ֔ם כִּֽי־נַחֵ֧שׁ יְנַחֵ֛שׁ אִ֖ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר כָּמֹֽנִי׃
And Yosef said to them, “What is this deed that you have done? Did you not know that a man like me would surely practice divination?”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (vayomer) – Root: אָמַר (amar); Form: Verb, Qal, Consecutive Imperfect, 3ms; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Introduces Yosef’s speech to his brothers.
- לָהֶם֙ (lahem) – Root: לָהֶם (lehem); Form: Prepositional phrase, 3mp suffix; Translation: “to them”; Notes: Indicates the indirect object of Yosef’s statement.
- יֹוסֵ֔ף (Yosef) – Root: יֹוסֵף (Yosef); Form: Proper noun, ms; Translation: “Yosef”; Notes: The speaker in this context.
- מָֽה־הַמַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה (mah-hama’aseh) – Root: מַעֲשֶׂה (ma’aseh); Form: Interrogative + noun, ms; Translation: “What is the deed”; Notes: Used as an inquiry regarding the brothers’ actions.
- הַזֶּ֖ה (hazeh) – Root: זֶה (zeh); Form: Demonstrative pronoun, ms; Translation: “this”; Notes: Refers to the specific action being questioned.
- אֲשֶׁ֣ר (asher) – Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “that”; Notes: Connects “this deed” to the following clause.
- עֲשִׂיתֶ֑ם (asithem) – Root: עָשָׂה (asah); Form: Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2mp; Translation: “you have done”; Notes: Refers to the brothers’ completed action.
- הֲלֹ֣וא (halo) – Form: Interrogative particle; Translation: “Did you not”; Notes: Used to introduce a rhetorical question.
- יְדַעְתֶּ֔ם (yeda’tem) – Root: יָדַע (yada); Form: Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2mp; Translation: “you knew”; Notes: Refers to the knowledge Yosef assumes the brothers possess.
- כִּֽי־נַחֵ֧שׁ (ki-nachesh) – Root: נָחַשׁ (nachash); Form: Conjunction “for” + verb, Pi’el, Imperfect, 3ms; Translation: “that surely practices divination”; Notes: Implies the action of divination commonly attributed to one in Yosef’s position.
- יְנַחֵ֛שׁ (yenachesh) – Root: נָחַשׁ (nachash); Form: Verb, Pi’el, Imperfect, 3ms; Translation: “he would practice divination”; Notes: Describes the expected behavior of someone like Yosef.
- אִ֖ישׁ (ish) – Root: אִישׁ (ish); Form: Noun, ms; Translation: “a man”; Notes: General term describing a person of stature.
- אֲשֶׁ֥ר (asher) – Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces the clause describing Yosef’s character.
- כָּמֹֽנִי (kamoni) – Root: כָּמוֹ (kamo); Form: Preposition with 1cs suffix; Translation: “like me”; Notes: Emphasizes Yosef’s unique role and ability.