וַיְהִ֣י בַּשָּׁנָ֣ה הַהִ֗יא בְּרֵאשִׁית֙ מַמְלֶ֨כֶת֙ צִדְקִיָּ֣ה מֶֽלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֔ה בַּשָּׁנָה הָֽרְבִעִ֔ית בַּחֹ֖דֶשׁ הַחֲמִישִׁ֑י אָמַ֣ר אֵלַ֡י חֲנַנְיָה֩ בֶן־עַזּ֨וּר הַנָּבִ֜יא אֲשֶׁ֤ר מִגִּבְעֹון֙ בְּבֵ֣ית יְהוָ֔ה לְעֵינֵ֧י הַכֹּהֲנִ֛ים וְכָל־הָעָ֖ם לֵאמֹֽר׃
And it came to be in that year, at the beginning of the reign of Tsidqiyya king of Yehuda, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Ḥananya son of Azzur the prophet, who was from Giveʿon, spoke to me in the house of YHWH before the eyes of the priests and all the people, saying,
Morphology
- וַיְהִי (va-yehī) – Root: היה; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And it came to be”; Notes: Standard narrative introduction formula.
- בַּשָּׁנָה (ba-shanah) – Root: שׁנה; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun feminine singular with article; Translation: “in the year”; Notes: Sets the temporal context.
- הַהִיא (ha-hī) – Root: הוא; Form: Demonstrative pronoun feminine singular; Translation: “that”; Notes: Refers to a specific, previously mentioned year.
- בְּרֵאשִׁית (be-reʾshit) – Root: ראשׁ; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun feminine singular construct; Translation: “at the beginning of”; Notes: Marks the start of a reign.
- מַמְלֶכֶת (mamlekhet) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun feminine singular construct; Translation: “reign of”; Notes: Governance or rule of a monarch.
- צִדְקִיָּה (Tsidqiyyah) – Root: צדק; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Tsidqiyyah”; Notes: Name of the last king of Judah before the Babylonian exile.
- מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה (melekh-Yehudah) – Root: מלך, יהודה; Form: Noun construct + proper noun; Translation: “king of Yehudah”; Notes: Identifies Tsidqiyyah’s office and jurisdiction.
- בַּשָּׁנָה (ba-shanah) – Root: שׁנה; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun feminine singular with article; Translation: “in the year”; Notes: Second temporal marker.
- הָרְבִעִית (ha-reviʿit) – Root: ארבע; Form: Ordinal numeral feminine singular with article; Translation: “the fourth”; Notes: Specifies the regnal year.
- בַּחֹדֶשׁ (ba-ḥodesh) – Root: חדשׁ; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular with article; Translation: “in the month”; Notes: Introduces the month reference.
- הַחֲמִישִׁי (ha-ḥamishī) – Root: חמשׁ; Form: Ordinal numeral masculine singular with article; Translation: “the fifth”; Notes: Indicates the month of the event.
- אָמַר (ʾamar) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “spoke” / “said”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
- אֵלַי (ʾelai) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition + 1st person common singular suffix; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Marks the addressee of the speech.
- חֲנַנְיָה (Ḥananyah) – Root: חנן; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Ḥananyah”; Notes: Personal name meaning “YHWH has been gracious.”
- בֶן־עַזּוּר (ben-ʿAzzur) – Root: בן, עזור; Form: Noun construct + proper noun; Translation: “son of Azzur”; Notes: Patronymic identification.
- הַנָּבִיא (ha-naviʾ) – Root: נבא; Form: Noun masculine singular with article; Translation: “the prophet”; Notes: Office or role of Ḥananyah.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾăsher) – Root: אשר; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “who”; Notes: Connects to descriptive clause.
- מִגִּבְעֹון (mi-Givʿon) – Root: גבעון; Form: Preposition מִן + proper noun; Translation: “from Givʿon”; Notes: Geographic origin of the prophet.
- בְּבֵית (be-beit) – Root: בית; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “in the house of”; Notes: Refers to the Temple as YHWH’s house.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: Divine Name; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Tetragrammaton for the God of Yisraʾel.
- לְעֵינֵי (le-ʿeine) – Root: עין; Form: Preposition לְ + noun dual construct; Translation: “before the eyes of”; Notes: Idiom for “in the presence of.”
- הַכֹּהֲנִים (ha-kohanim) – Root: כהן; Form: Noun masculine plural with article; Translation: “the priests”; Notes: Levitical and Aaronic temple functionaries.
- וְכָל־הָעָם (ve-khol-ha-ʿam) – Root: כל, עם; Form: Conjunction + noun in construct + definite noun; Translation: “and all the people”; Notes: Collective audience including laypersons.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾmor) – Root: אמר; Form: Preposition + Qal infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Standard introducer for direct discourse.