וַֽיַּעֲמֹד֙ רַב־שָׁקֵ֔ה וַיִּקְרָ֥א בְקֹול־גָּדֹ֖ול יְהוּדִ֑ית וַיֹּ֕אמֶר שִׁמְע֗וּ אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֛י הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ הַגָּדֹ֖ול מֶ֥לֶךְ אַשּֽׁוּר׃
And Rav-shaqe stood and called out with a loud voice in Yehudit, and he said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Ashshur.”
Morphology
- וַיַּעֲמֹד (va-yaʿamod) – Root: עמד; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he stood”; Notes: Marks the start of a formal or emphatic action by Rav-shaqeh.
- רַב־שָׁקֵה (Rav-shaqeh) – Root: רב + שק; Form: Title compound; Translation: “Rav-shaqeh”; Notes: Assyrian official title meaning chief envoy or cupbearer.
- וַיִּקְרָא (va-yiqra) – Root: קרא; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he called”; Notes: Public proclamation to grab attention.
- בְקֹול־גָּדֹול (be-qol gadol) – Root: קול + גדל; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular + adjective masculine singular; Translation: “with a loud voice”; Notes: Indicates both volume and urgency.
- יְהוּדִית (Yehudit) – Root: יהודה; Form: Adjective used as a noun; Translation: “in Yehudit”; Notes: The Hebrew dialect of Yehudah, understood by local listeners.
- וַיֹּאמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he said”; Notes: Introduces the content of the public speech.
- שִׁמְעוּ (shimʿu) – Root: שׁמע; Form: Qal imperative 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “Hear”; Notes: A command directed to all the people present.
- אֶת־דִּבְרֵי (et-divrei) – Root: דבר; Form: Direct object marker + construct noun masculine plural; Translation: “the words of”; Notes: Introduces the subject matter to be heard.
- הַמֶּלֶךְ (ha-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Subject of the construct phrase, emphasized title.
- הַגָּדֹול (ha-gadol) – Root: גדל; Form: Adjective masculine singular with article; Translation: “the great”; Notes: Honorific modifier of “the king.”
- מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר (melekh Ashshur) – Root: מלך + אשׁור; Form: Construct noun + proper noun; Translation: “the king of Ashshur”; Notes: Refers to the Assyrian monarch issuing the message.