וַיֹּאמַ֕ר אַחַ֥י בְּנֵֽי־אִמִּ֖י הֵ֑ם חַי־יְהוָ֗ה ל֚וּ הַחֲיִתֶ֣ם אֹותָ֔ם לֹ֥א הָרַ֖גְתִּי אֶתְכֶֽם׃
And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother! As YHWH lives, if you had let them live, I would not have killed you.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמַ֕ר (vayyomar) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (sequential imperfect) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
- אַחַ֥י (aḥai) – Root: אח (aḥ); Form: Noun, masculine plural with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my brothers”; Notes: Indicates close kinship.
- בְּנֵֽי־אִמִּ֖י (bene-ʾimmi) – Root: בן, אם (ben, ʾem); Form: Noun, masculine plural construct with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “the sons of my mother”; Notes: Emphasizes close family relation.
- הֵ֑ם (hem) – Root: הוא (hu); Form: Independent pronoun, masculine plural; Translation: “they”; Notes: Provides emphasis.
- חַי־יְהוָ֗ה (ḥai-YHWH) – Root: חיה (ḥayah); Form: Qal participle masculine singular in construct with divine name; Translation: “As YHWH lives”; Notes: Oath formula.
- ל֚וּ (lu) – Root: לו (lu); Form: Conditional particle; Translation: “if only”; Notes: Expresses counterfactual condition.
- הַחֲיִתֶ֣ם (haḥayitem) – Root: חיה (ḥayah); Form: Hifil perfect 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “you had let live”; Notes: Causal meaning.
- אֹותָ֔ם (otam) – Root: את (ʾet); Form: Definite direct object marker with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “them”; Notes: Marks object of the verb.
- לֹ֥א (lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the verb.
- הָרַ֖גְתִּי (haragti) – Root: הרג (harag); Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I would have killed”; Notes: Expresses counterfactual statement.
- אֶתְכֶֽם׃ (etkhem) – Root: את (ʾet); Form: Definite direct object marker with 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “you”; Notes: Marks the direct object.