וַיֹּ֣אמֶר חַגַּ֔י אִם־יִגַּ֧ע טְמֵא־נֶ֛פֶשׁ בְּכָל־אֵ֖לֶּה הֲיִטְמָ֑א וַיַּעֲנ֧וּ הַכֹּהֲנִ֛ים וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ יִטְמָֽא׃
And Ḥaggay said, “If one unclean of a soul touches in all these, shall it become unclean?” And the priests answered and said, “It shall become unclean.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3ms; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Introduces Ḥaggay’s legal inquiry.
- חַגַּי (Ḥaggay) – Root: חגג (ḥ-g-g); Form: Proper noun masculine singular; Translation: “Ḥaggay”; Notes: Name of the prophet delivering YHWH’s message.
- אִם־ (’im) – Root: אם (ʾ-m); Form: Conditional particle; Translation: “If”; Notes: Introduces a hypothetical legal situation.
- יִגַּע (yiggaʿ) – Root: נגע (n-g-ʿ); Form: Qal imperfect 3ms; Translation: “he touches / one touches”; Notes: Refers to potential physical contact causing ritual transfer.
- טְמֵא־ (tmeʾ) – Root: טמא (ṭ-m-ʾ); Form: Adjective masculine singular construct; Translation: “unclean (of)”; Notes: Indicates ritual impurity as defined by Torah law.
- נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) – Root: נפש (n-p-sh); Form: Noun feminine singular absolute; Translation: “soul / person / corpse”; Notes: In purity laws often refers to corpse impurity.
- בְּכָל־ (be-khol) – Root: כל (k-l); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “in all”; Notes: Refers to all the items previously listed in the prophetic context.
- אֵלֶּה (elleh) – Root: אלה (ʾ-l-h); Form: Demonstrative pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “these”; Notes: Points to ritual items named earlier in the argument.
- הֲיִטְמָא (ha-yitma) – Root: טמא (ṭ-m-ʾ); Form: Interrogative prefix הֲ + Qal imperfect 3ms; Translation: “shall it become unclean?”; Notes: Poses a halakhic question to the priests.
- וַיַּעֲנוּ (va-yaʿanu) – Root: ענה (ʿ-n-h); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3mp; Translation: “And they answered”; Notes: The priests render a legal decision.
- הַכֹּהֲנִים (ha-kohanim) – Root: כהן (k-h-n); Form: Definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “the priests”; Notes: Those authorized to rule on matters of ritual purity.
- וַיֹּאמְרוּ (va-yomru) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3mp; Translation: “and they said”; Notes: Follows their legal response with verbal affirmation.
- יִטְמָא (yitma) – Root: טמא (ṭ-m-ʾ); Form: Qal imperfect 3ms; Translation: “it shall become unclean”; Notes: Confirms the principle that impurity spreads through contact.