וַיְצַוֶּ֣ה הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ אֵ֛ת עֶֽבֶד־מֶ֥לֶךְ הַכּוּשִׁ֖י לֵאמֹ֑ר קַ֣ח בְּיָדְךָ֤ מִזֶּה֙ שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים אֲנָשִׁ֔ים וְֽהַעֲלִ֜יתָ אֶֽת־יִרְמְיָ֧הוּ הַנָּבִ֛יא מִן־הַבֹּ֖ור בְּטֶ֥רֶם יָמֽוּת׃
And the king commanded ʿEved-melekh the Kushi, saying, “Take in your hand from here thirty men, and you shall bring up Yirmeyahu the prophet from the pit before he dies.”
Morphology
- וַיְצַוֶּה (va-yetsavveh) – Root: צוה; Form: Piel wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he commanded”; Notes: Stronger than “said,” expresses an official order.
- הַמֶּלֶךְ (ha-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Subject of the verb “commanded.”
- אֵת (ʾet) – Form: Direct object marker; Translation: “—”; Notes: Introduces the object.
- עֶבֶד־מֶלֶךְ (ʿEved-Melekh) – Root: עבד, מלך; Form: Construct phrase; Translation: “ʿEved-Melekh”; Notes: Proper name meaning “Servant of the King.”
- הַכּוּשִׁי (ha-Kushi) – Root: כושׁ; Form: Gentilic adjective with article; Translation: “the Kushite”; Notes: Ethnic identifier, from Kush (Nubia/Ethiopia).
- לֵאמֹר (leʾmor) – Root: אמר; Form: Preposition + infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Standard formula introducing direct speech.
- קַח (qaḥ) – Root: לקח; Form: Qal imperative 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “Take”; Notes: Direct command to ʿEved-Melekh.
- בְּיָדְךָ (be-yadkha) – Root: יד; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun feminine singular + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “in your hand”; Notes: Idiom for “under your control/authority.”
- מִזֶּה (mi-zeh) – Root: זה; Form: Preposition מִן + demonstrative pronoun; Translation: “from here”; Notes: Indicates source.
- שְׁלֹשִׁים (sheloshim) – Root: שלשׁ; Form: Numeral masculine plural; Translation: “thirty”; Notes: Quantity of men to take.
- אֲנָשִׁים (ʾanashim) – Root: אנשׁ; Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “men”; Notes: Object of the numeral “thirty.”
- וְהַעֲלִיתָ (ve-haʿalita) – Root: עלה; Form: Hiphil perfect 2nd person masculine singular (with waw-consecutive nuance of command); Translation: “and you shall bring up”; Notes: Hiphil causative—cause him to ascend, i.e., rescue.
- אֶת־יִרְמְיָהוּ (ʾet-Yirmeyahu) – Form: Direct object marker + proper noun; Translation: “Yirmeyahu”; Notes: Object of “bring up.”
- הַנָּבִיא (ha-naviʾ) – Root: נבא; Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the prophet”; Notes: Appositional title of Yirmeyahu.
- מִן־הַבֹּור (min-ha-bor) – Root: בור; Form: Preposition מִן + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “from the pit”; Notes: Indicates place of rescue.
- בְּטֶרֶם (be-terem) – Root: —; Form: Preposition; Translation: “before”; Notes: Temporal marker introducing condition.
- יָמוּת (yamut) – Root: מות; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “he dies”; Notes: Expresses potential future action, conditional on delay.