וַיֹּ֥אמְרוּ לֹ֖ו שְׁאַל־נָ֣א בֵאלֹהִ֑ים וְנֵ֣דְעָ֔ה הֲתַצְלִ֣יחַ דַּרְכֵּ֔נוּ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנַ֖חְנוּ הֹלְכִ֥ים עָלֶֽיהָ׃
And they said to him, “Please inquire of God, so that we may know whether our way on which we are going shall succeed.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֥אמְרוּ (vayyomeru) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (consecutive imperfect) 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “And they said”; Notes: Introduces speech.
- לֹ֖ו (lo) – Root: לו (lo); Form: Prepositional pronoun, 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Marks the recipient of the speech.
- שְׁאַל־נָ֣א (sheʾal-na) – Root: שאל (shaʾal); Form: Qal imperative masculine singular + particle of entreaty; Translation: “Please inquire”; Notes: Direct request.
- בֵאלֹהִ֑ים (be-Elohim) – Root: אלהים (Elohim); Form: Preposition + noun, masculine plural; Translation: “of God”; Notes: Indicates the object of inquiry.
- וְנֵ֣דְעָ֔ה (veneidaʿah) – Root: ידע (yadaʿ); Form: Qal cohortative 1st person plural; Translation: “so that we may know”; Notes: Expresses intent.
- הֲתַצְלִ֣יחַ (ha-tatsliaḥ) – Root: צלח (tsalaḥ); Form: Hifil imperfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “whether it shall succeed”; Notes: Interrogative verb.
- דַּרְכֵּ֔נוּ (darkeinu) – Root: דרך (derekh); Form: Noun, feminine singular construct + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “our way”; Notes: Indicates the path they are taking.
- אֲשֶׁ֥ר (asher) – Root: אשר (asher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “which”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause.
- אֲנַ֖חְנוּ (anaḥnu) – Root: אנחנו (anaḥnu); Form: Pronoun, 1st person plural; Translation: “we”; Notes: Subject of the clause.
- הֹלְכִ֥ים (holkhim) – Root: הלך (halakh); Form: Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “going”; Notes: Describes ongoing action.
- עָלֶֽיהָ׃ (aleha) – Root: על (ʿal); Form: Preposition + 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “on it”; Notes: Refers to “the way.”