וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָנֹכִ֥י הָאֵ֖ל אֱלֹהֵ֣י אָבִ֑יךָ אַל־תִּירָא֙ מֵרְדָ֣ה מִצְרַ֔יְמָה כִּֽי־לְגֹ֥וי גָּדֹ֖ול אֲשִֽׂימְךָ֥ שָֽׁם׃
And He said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Mitsrayim, for I will make you into a great nation there.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֕אמֶר (vayomer) – Root: אמר (amar); Form: Verb, Qal, Consecutive Imperfect, 3ms; Translation: “and He said”; Notes: Refers to God speaking to Yisrael (Ya’aqov).
- אָנֹכִ֥י (anokhi) – Form: Pronoun, first person singular; Translation: “I”; Notes: Emphasizes God’s self-identification.
- הָאֵ֖ל (ha’El) – Root: אֵל (El); Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the God”; Notes: Refers to the deity.
- אֱלֹהֵ֣י (Elohei) – Root: אֱלֹהִים (Elohim); Form: Noun, masculine plural construct; Translation: “God of”; Notes: Indicates possession or association.
- אָבִ֑יךָ (avikha) – Root: אָב (av); Form: Noun, masculine singular with 2ms suffix; Translation: “your father”; Notes: Refers to Ya’aqov’s father, Yitsḥaq.
- אַל־תִּירָא֙ (al-tira) – Root: ירא (yara); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 2ms with negative particle; Translation: “do not be afraid”; Notes: A command providing reassurance.
- מֵרְדָ֣ה (meredah) – Root: ירד (yarad); Form: Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct with preposition; Translation: “to go down”; Notes: Describes the action of descending.
- מִצְרַ֔יְמָה (Mitzraymah) – Root: מִצְרַיִם (Mitzrayim); Form: Proper noun, feminine singular with directional he; Translation: “to Egypt”; Notes: Indicates the destination.
- כִּֽי־לְגֹ֥וי (ki-legoy) – Root: גּוֹי (goy); Form: Conjunction with noun, masculine singular; Translation: “for into a nation”; Notes: Introduces the reason.
- גָּדֹ֖ול (gadol) – Root: גָּדוֹל (gadol); Form: Adjective, masculine singular; Translation: “great”; Notes: Describes the magnitude of the nation.
- אֲשִֽׂימְךָ֥ (asimkha) – Root: שׂים (sim); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 1cs with 2ms suffix; Translation: “I will make you”; Notes: Indicates God’s intention.
- שָֽׁם׃ (sham) – Form: Adverb; Translation: “there”; Notes: Specifies the location where the action will occur.