עַתָּ֤ה נִבְרְאוּ֙ וְלֹ֣א מֵאָ֔ז וְלִפְנֵי־יֹ֖ום וְלֹ֣א שְׁמַעְתָּ֑ם פֶּן־תֹּאמַ֖ר הִנֵּ֥ה יְדַעְתִּֽין׃
Now they were created, and not from of old, and before today you did not hear them, lest you should say, “Behold, I knew them.”
Morphology
- עַתָּה (ʿattah) – Root: עת; Form: Adverb; Translation: “Now”; Notes: Introduces the timing of the creation—present or recent.
- נִבְרְאוּ (nivreʾu) – Root: ברא; Form: Nifal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they were created”; Notes: Passive construction indicating divine origin.
- וְלֹא (ve-lo) – Root: לא; Form: Conjunction + negative particle; Translation: “and not”; Notes: Contrasts the creation time with antiquity.
- מֵאָז (meʾaz) – Root: אז; Form: Preposition + adverb; Translation: “from of old”; Notes: Emphasizes that these things are newly revealed, not ancient.
- וְלִפְנֵי־יֹום (ve-lifnei-yom) – Root: פנה, יום; Form: Conjunction + preposition + noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “and before today”; Notes: Reinforces the idea of recentness.
- וְלֹא (ve-lo) – Root: לא; Form: Conjunction + negative particle; Translation: “and not”; Notes: Introduces another negation.
- שְׁמַעְתָּם (shamaʿtam) – Root: שׁמע; Form: Qal perfect 2nd person masculine singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “you heard them”; Notes: Negates any claim of prior revelation.
- פֶּן (pen) – Root: פן; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “lest”; Notes: Introduces a clause indicating a reason for concealing the matter until now.
- תֹּאמַר (toʾmar) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “you should say”; Notes: Potential speech by the listener.
- הִנֵּה (hinneh) – Root: הנה; Form: Interjection; Translation: “Behold”; Notes: Draws attention to the following claim.
- יְדַעְתִּין (yadaʿtin) – Root: ידע; Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular + pronominal suffix (archaic enclitic); Translation: “I knew them”; Notes: Rare form ending in ן used poetically or emphatically; the speaker falsely claims prior knowledge.