כֹּֽה־אָמַ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אָנֹכִ֗י כָּרַ֤תִּֽי בְרִית֙ אֶת־אֲבֹ֣ותֵיכֶ֔ם בְּיֹ֨ום הֹוצִאִ֤י אֹותָם֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם מִבֵּ֥ית עֲבָדִ֖ים לֵאמֹֽר׃
“Thus said YHWH, the God of Yisraʾel: ‘I made a covenant with your fathers on the day I brought them out from the land of Mitsrayim, from the house of slaves, saying:
Morphology
- כֹּֽה (koh) – Root: כה; Form: Adverb; Translation: “Thus”; Notes: Introduces prophetic speech.
- אָמַ֥ר (ʾāmar) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “said”; Notes: Refers to a formal declaration by YHWH.
- יְהוָ֖ה (YHWH) – Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Divine speaker.
- אֱלֹהֵ֣י (ʾĕlōhē) – Root: אלה; Form: Construct noun masculine plural; Translation: “God of”; Notes: Construct form joined to “Yisraʾel.”
- יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל (Yisraʾel) – Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yisraʾel”; Notes: The nation addressed.
- אָנֹכִ֗י (ʾānōkhī) – Form: Independent pronoun 1st person singular; Translation: “I”; Notes: Emphatic self-reference.
- כָּרַ֤תִּֽי (kārattī) – Root: כרת; Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I cut”; Notes: Idiomatically means “made” a covenant.
- בְרִית֙ (bərīt) – Root: ברית; Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “a covenant”; Notes: Refers to a binding agreement or treaty.
- אֶת־אֲבֹ֣ותֵיכֶ֔ם (et-ʾavōteykhem) – Root: אב; Form: Direct object marker + noun masculine plural with 2mp suffix; Translation: “your fathers”; Notes: Refers to the ancestors of the current generation.
- בְּיֹ֨ום (bə-yōm) – Root: יום; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “on the day”; Notes: Temporal marker.
- הֹוצִאִ֤י (hōtsīʾī) – Root: יצא; Form: Hiphil infinitive construct + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “I brought out”; Notes: Causative stem indicating divine action.
- אֹותָם֙ (ʾōtām) – Root: את; Form: Direct object pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to the fathers of Yisraʾel.
- מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם (me-ʾerets Mitsrayim) – Root: ארץ / מצרים; Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular + proper noun; Translation: “from the land of Mitsrayim”; Notes: Geographic origin of the exodus.
- מִבֵּ֥ית עֲבָדִ֖ים (mi-bēt ʿăvādīm) – Root: בית / עבד; Form: Preposition + construct noun masculine singular + noun masculine plural; Translation: “from the house of slaves”; Notes: Figurative expression of slavery.
- לֵאמֹֽר (lēʾmōr) – Root: אמר; Form: Infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces the content of the covenant speech to follow.