כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָאֹ֔ות הִנְנִ֥י שֹׁבֵ֖ר אֶת־קֶ֣שֶׁת עֵילָ֑ם רֵאשִׁ֖ית גְּבוּרָתָֽם׃
“Thus says YHWH of Hosts: ‘Behold, I am breaking the bow of ʿElam, the chief of their might.
Morphology
- כֹּה (koh) – Root: כה; Form: Adverb; Translation: “Thus”; Notes: Standard introduction to prophetic oracles.
- אָמַר (ʾamar) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal perfect 3ms; Translation: “says / said”; Notes: Refers to divine speech.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: יהוה; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Covenant name of Israel’s God.
- צְבָאֹות (tsevaʾot) – Root: צבא; Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “of hosts”; Notes: Title of YHWH as commander of heavenly and earthly armies.
- הִנְנִי (hineni) – Root: הנה; Form: Interjection + 1cs suffix; Translation: “Behold, I”; Notes: Emphasizes certainty and immediacy of divine action.
- שֹׁבֵר (shover) – Root: שׁבר; Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “breaking”; Notes: Denotes ongoing or imminent action of destruction.
- אֶת־ (ʾet) – Form: Direct object marker; Translation: [no English equivalent]; Notes: Marks the definite direct object “the bow.”
- קֶשֶׁת (qeshet) – Root: קשׁת; Form: Noun feminine singular absolute; Translation: “bow”; Notes: Symbol of military strength and weaponry.
- עֵילָם (ʿElam) – Root: עילם; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “ʿElam”; Notes: Ancient nation east of Babylon, famous for its archers.
- רֵאשִׁית (reshit) – Root: ראשׁ; Form: Noun feminine singular construct; Translation: “chief, beginning”; Notes: Refers to the foremost or principal part.
- גְּבוּרָתָם (gevuratam) – Root: גבר; Form: Noun feminine singular construct + 3mp suffix; Translation: “their might”; Notes: The bow is described as the foremost expression of ʿElam’s strength.