וַיְמַ֤ן יְהוָה֙ דָּ֣ג גָּדֹ֔ול לִבְלֹ֖עַ אֶת־יֹונָ֑ה וַיְהִ֤י יֹונָה֙ בִּמְעֵ֣י הַדָּ֔ג שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה יָמִ֖ים וּשְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה לֵילֹֽות׃
And YHWH appointed a great fish to swallow Yona, and Yona was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Morphology
- וַיְמַן (va-yeman) – Root: מנה (manah); Form: Piel wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3ms; Translation: “And appointed”; Notes: Highlights YHWH’s deliberate and purposeful action.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: הוה (havah); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The divine subject appointing the fish.
- דָּג (dag) – Root: דג (dag); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a fish”; Notes: The creature divinely designated for Yonah.
- גָּדֹול (gadol) – Root: גדל (gadal); Form: Adjective masculine singular; Translation: “great”; Notes: Indicates impressive size or significance.
- לִבְלֹעַ (li-vloaʿ) – Root: בלע (balaʿ); Form: Preposition לְ + infinitive construct; Translation: “to swallow”; Notes: Expresses purpose of YHWH’s appointment.
- אֶת (ʾet) – Root: את (ʾet); Form: Direct object marker; Translation: “—”; Notes: Marks Yonah as the direct object of “to swallow.”
- יֹונָה (Yonah) – Root: יֹונָה (Yonah); Form: Proper noun masculine singular; Translation: “Yonah”; Notes: The prophet swallowed by the fish.
- וַיְהִי (va-yehi) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3ms; Translation: “And he was”; Notes: Introduces a new narrative state inside the fish.
- יֹונָה (Yonah) – Root: יֹונָה (Yonah); Form: Proper noun masculine singular; Translation: “Yonah”; Notes: Repetition keeps the focus on the prophet’s condition.
- בִּמְעֵי (bi-meʿei) – Root: מעי (maʿay); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “in the belly of”; Notes: Construct chain preparing for “the fish.”
- הַדָּג (ha-dag) – Root: דג (dag); Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the fish”; Notes: The same great fish mentioned earlier.
- שְׁלֹשָׁה (sheloshah) – Root: שלש (shalosh); Form: Numeral masculine singular; Translation: “three”; Notes: Masculine to match “days.”
- יָמִים (yamim) – Root: יום (yom); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “days”; Notes: First half of the duration expression.
- וּשְׁלֹשָׁה (u-sheloshah) – Root: שלש (shalosh); Form: Conjunction וְ + numeral masculine singular; Translation: “and three”; Notes: Mirrors the previous numeral for parallelism.
- לֵילֹות (leylot) – Root: ליל (layil); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “nights”; Notes: Completes the formal expression “three days and three nights.”