לֵאמֹר לֹא כִּי אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם נָבֹוא אֲשֶׁר לֹא־נִרְאֶה מִלְחָמָה וְקֹול שֹׁופָר לֹא נִשְׁמָע וְלַלֶּחֶם לֹא־נִרְעָב וְשָׁם נֵשֵׁב׃
saying, ‘No, but to the land of Mitsrayim we will go, where we shall not see war, and the sound of the trumpet we shall not hear, and for bread we shall not hunger, and there we will dwell,’
Morphology
- לֵאמֹר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Infinitive construct with preposition; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
- לֹא (lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “No”; Notes: Expresses refusal or contradiction.
- כִּי (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “but”; Notes: Used here adversatively to introduce contrast.
- אֶרֶץ (ʾerets) – Root: ארץ (ʾerets); Form: Noun feminine singular absolute; Translation: “land”; Notes: Refers to the destination.
- מִצְרַיִם (Mitsrayim) – Root: Proper noun; Form: Proper name; Translation: “Mitsrayim”; Notes: Refers to Egypt.
- נָבֹוא (navo) – Root: בוא (boʾ); Form: Qal imperfect 1st person common plural with cohortative nuance; Translation: “we will go”; Notes: Expresses determination or intent.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: Particle; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “where/that”; Notes: Introduces relative clause.
- לֹא (lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the following verb.
- נִרְאֶה (nirʾeh) – Root: ראה (raʾah); Form: Nifal imperfect 1st person common plural; Translation: “we shall see”; Notes: In passive/reflexive, meaning “we shall experience.”
- מִלְחָמָה (milḥamah) – Root: לחם (laḥam); Form: Noun feminine singular absolute; Translation: “war”; Notes: Object of “see/experience.”
- וְקֹול (ve-qol) – Root: קול (qol); Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and the sound”; Notes: Introduces another condition.
- שֹׁופָר (shofar) – Root: שׁפר (shofar); Form: Noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “trumpet”; Notes: Refers to war signal horn.
- לֹא (lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the next verb.
- נִשְׁמָע (nishmaʿ) – Root: שׁמע (shamaʿ); Form: Nifal imperfect 1st person common plural; Translation: “we shall hear”; Notes: Passive/reflexive nuance: “it will be heard by us.”
- וְלַלֶּחֶם (ve-la-leḥem) – Root: לחם (leḥem); Form: Conjunction + preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and for bread”; Notes: Refers to sustenance.
- לֹא (lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the following verb.
- נִרְעָב (nirʿav) – Root: רעב (raʿav); Form: Nifal imperfect 1st person common plural; Translation: “we shall hunger”; Notes: Expresses lack of famine in Egypt.
- וְשָׁם (ve-sham) – Root: שם (sham); Form: Conjunction + adverb; Translation: “and there”; Notes: Marks finality of their intention.
- נֵשֵׁב (neshev) – Root: ישׁב (yashav); Form: Qal imperfect 1st person common plural; Translation: “we will dwell”; Notes: Expresses the people’s determination to settle in Egypt.