וַיִּשְׁמַ֡ע עֶֽבֶד־מֶ֨לֶךְ הַכּוּשִׁ֜י אִ֣ישׁ סָרִ֗יס וְהוּא֙ בְּבֵ֣ית הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ כִּֽי־נָתְנ֥וּ אֶֽת־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ אֶל־הַבֹּ֑ור וְהַמֶּ֥לֶךְ יֹושֵׁ֖ב בְּשַׁ֥עַר בִּנְיָמִֽן׃
And ʿEved-melekh the Kushi, a man who was a eunuch, heard—now he was in the house of the king—that they had put Yirmeyahu into the pit, and the king was sitting in the Gate of Binyamin.
Morphology
- וַיִּשְׁמַע (va-yishmaʿ) – Root: שׁמע; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he heard”; Notes: Sequential narrative verb introducing the action.
- עֶבֶד־מֶלֶךְ (ʿEved-Melekh) – Root: עבד / מלך; Form: Construct “servant of the king”; 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 designation, from the land of Kush (Nubia/Ethiopia).
- אִישׁ (ʾish) – Root: אישׁ; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a man”; Notes: Subject appositive, further describing ʿEved-Melekh.
- סָרִיס (sarīs) – Root: (loanword); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “eunuch”; Notes: Official in royal service, often literally a eunuch.
- וְהוּא (ve-hu) – Form: Conjunction + independent pronoun 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he”; Notes: Marks a parenthetical statement about his location.
- בְּבֵית (be-beit) – Root: בית; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “in the house of”; Notes: Beginning of construct chain.
- הַמֶּלֶךְ (ha-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Completes construct phrase “house of the king.”
- כִּי־נָתְנוּ (ki-natenu) – Root: נתן; Form: Conjunction + Qal perfect 3rd person plural; Translation: “that they had put”; Notes: Introduces reported content of what was heard.
- אֶת־יִרְמְיָהוּ (ʾet-Yirmeyahu) – Form: Direct object marker + proper noun; Translation: “Yirmeyahu”; Notes: Object of the verb “put.”
- אֶל־הַבֹּור (ʾel-ha-bor) – Root: בור; Form: Preposition אֶל + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “into the pit”; Notes: Destination of action.
- וְהַמֶּלֶךְ (ve-ha-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Conjunction + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “and the king”; Notes: Subject of following clause.
- יֹושֵׁב (yoshev) – Root: ישׁב; Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “was sitting”; Notes: Stative participle describing ongoing state.
- בְּשַׁעַר (be-shaʿar) – Root: שׁער; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “in the gate of”; Notes: Construct phrase introducing location.
- בִּנְיָמִן (Binyamin) – Root: —; Form: Proper noun, masculine singular; Translation: “Binyamin”; Notes: Tribal territory designation, “Gate of Binyamin.”