אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־מֹותְתַ֖נִי מֵרָ֑חֶם וַתְּהִי־לִ֤י אִמִּי֙ קִבְרִ֔י וְרַחְמָ֖הֿ הֲרַ֥ת עֹולָֽם׃
Who did not put me to death from the womb; so that my mother would have been for me my grave, and her womb pregnant forever.
Morphology
- אֲשֶׁ֥ר (ʾasher) – Root: אשר; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause referring to YHWH.
- לֹא־ (lo) – Root: לא; Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the verb that follows.
- מֹותְתַ֖נִי (motetani) – Root: מות; Form: Hifil perfect 2nd person masculine singular + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “you put me to death”; Notes: Causative form—“cause to die.”
- מֵרָ֑חֶם (me-raḥem) – Root: רחם; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “from the womb”; Notes: Spatial origin; used metaphorically of birth.
- וַתְּהִי־ (va-tehi) – Root: היה; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “and she became”; Notes: Refers to the mother.
- לִ֤י (li) – Root: ל־ + אני; Form: Preposition + 1st person singular pronoun; Translation: “to me / for me”; Notes: Dative of advantage.
- אִמִּי֙ (immi) – Root: אם; Form: Noun feminine singular construct + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my mother”; Notes: Possessive construction.
- קִבְרִ֔י (qivri) – Root: קבר; Form: Noun masculine singular construct + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my grave”; Notes: Paralleled with the mother in imagery.
- וְרַחְמָ֖הֿ (ve-raḥmah) – Root: רחם; Form: Noun masculine singular with 3rd person feminine suffix (archaic spelling); Translation: “and her womb”; Notes: Feminine possessive pronoun on a masculine noun; poetic syntax.
- הֲרַ֥ת (harat) – Root: הרה; Form: Adjective feminine singular construct; Translation: “pregnant (with)”; Notes: Connected to עֹולָם as its genitive complement.
- עֹולָֽם (ʿolam) – Root: עולם; Form: Noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “eternity / forever”; Notes: Implies unending gestation; dramatic hyperbole.