Isaiah 51:9

עוּרִ֨י עוּרִ֤י לִבְשִׁי־עֹז֙ זְרֹ֣ועַ יְהוָ֔ה ע֚וּרִי כִּ֣ימֵי קֶ֔דֶם דֹּרֹ֖ות עֹולָמִ֑ים הֲלֹ֥וא אַתְּ־הִ֛יא הַמַּחְצֶ֥בֶת רַ֖הַב מְחֹולֶ֥לֶת תַּנִּֽין׃

Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O arm of YHWH! Awake as in days of old, generations of ages past. Are you not the one who cut Rahav in pieces, who pierced the tannin?

 

Morphology

  1. עוּרִ֨י (ʿūrī) – Root: עור (ʿur); Form: Qal imperative feminine singular; Translation: “Awake”; Notes: Directed to “arm of YHWH,” which is feminine in Hebrew idiom.
  2. עוּרִ֤י (ʿūrī) – Root: עור (ʿur); Form: Repetition of previous imperative for emphasis; Translation: “Awake!”; Notes: Hebrew poetic parallelism.
  3. לִבְשִׁי־עֹז (livshī-ʿoz) – Root: לבש (lavash) / עז (ʿoz); Form: Qal imperative feminine singular + noun masculine singular; Translation: “clothe yourself with strength”; Notes: Personified arm of YHWH being called to action with power.
  4. זְרֹ֣ועַ יְהוָ֔ה (zeroaʿ YHWH) – Root: זרע (zeroaʿ); Form: Noun feminine singular in construct + proper noun; Translation: “arm of YHWH”; Notes: Metaphor for YHWH’s power in action.
  5. ע֚וּרִי (ʿūrī) – Root: עור (ʿur); Form: Repeated imperative feminine singular; Translation: “Awake!”; Notes: Third poetic repetition to intensify the plea.
  6. כִּ֣ימֵי קֶ֔דֶם (ki-yemē qedem) – Root: יום (yom) / קדם (qedem); Form: Preposition + construct plural noun + noun masculine singular; Translation: “as in days of old”; Notes: Reference to primordial divine acts.
  7. דֹּרֹ֖ות עֹולָמִ֑ים (dorot ʿolamim) – Root: דור (dor) / עולם (ʿolam); Form: Noun plural construct + noun masculine plural; Translation: “generations of ages past”; Notes: Emphasizes the ancientness of YHWH’s mighty deeds.
  8. הֲלֹ֥וא (halo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Interrogative particle; Translation: “Are you not”; Notes: Introduces rhetorical question.
  9. אַתְּ־הִ֛יא (at-hi) – Root: את (ʾat) / הוא (hi); Form: Independent pronoun feminine singular + demonstrative feminine singular; Translation: “you the one”; Notes: Reinforces the identity of the addressee.
  10. הַמַּחְצֶ֥בֶת (ha-maḥtsevet) – Root: חצב (ḥatsav); Form: Definite article + feminine participle; Translation: “the one who cut”; Notes: Poetic image of YHWH wounding primordial chaos.
  11. רַ֖הַב (Rahav) – Root: רהב (Rahav); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Rahav”; Notes: Mythic sea monster symbolizing chaos or Egypt.
  12. מְחֹולֶ֥לֶת (meḥolelet) – Root: חלל (ḥalal); Form: Pual participle feminine singular; Translation: “who pierced”; Notes: Passive intensive; describes violent wounding.
  13. תַּנִּֽין (tannin) – Root: תנין (tannin); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “sea monster” or “dragon”; Notes: Chaos monster defeated by YHWH in creation/redemption imagery.

 

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