וַיַּעֲנ֨וּ אֶת־יְהֹושֻׁ֜עַ וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ כִּי֩ הֻגֵּ֨ד הֻגַּ֤ד לַעֲבָדֶ֨יךָ֙ אֵת֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֜ה יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֣ה עַבְדֹּ֔ו לָתֵ֤ת לָכֶם֙ אֶת־כָּל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וּלְהַשְׁמִ֛יד אֶת־כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵ֥י הָאָ֖רֶץ מִפְּנֵיכֶ֑ם וַנִּירָ֨א מְאֹ֤ד לְנַפְשֹׁתֵ֨ינוּ֙ מִפְּנֵיכֶ֔ם וַֽנַּעֲשֵׂ֖ה אֶת־הַדָּבָ֥ר הַזֶּֽה׃
And they answered Yehoshua and said, “Because it was surely told to your servants what YHWH your God commanded Moshe His servant to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, so we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and we did this thing.
Morphology
- וַיַּעֲנ֨וּ (vayyaʿanu) – Root: ענה (ʿanah); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (preterite) 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “And they answered”.
- אֶת־יְהֹושֻׁ֜עַ (et-Yehoshuaʿ) – Root: יהושע (Yehoshuaʿ); Form: Preposition with proper noun; Translation: “Yehoshua”.
- וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ (vayyomru) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “and they said”.
- כִּי֩ (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “because”.
- הֻגֵּ֨ד (hugged) – Root: נגד (nagad); Form: Hofal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “it was told”; Notes: Hofal denotes the passive causative.
- הֻגַּ֤ד (huggad) – Root: נגד (nagad); Form: Hofal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “surely told”; Notes: Repetition emphasizes certainty.
- לַעֲבָדֶ֨יךָ֙ (laʿavadeikha) – Root: עבד (ʿavad); Form: Noun masculine plural with 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “to your servants”.
- אֵת֩ (et) – Form: Definite direct object marker; Translation: “[about]”.
- אֲשֶׁ֨ר (ʾasher) – Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “what”.
- צִוָּ֜ה (tsiwwah) – Root: צוה (tsavah); Form: Piel perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “commanded”.
- יְהוָ֤ה (YHWH) – Root: יהוה (YHWH); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”.
- אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ (Elohekha) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Noun masculine plural with 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “your God”.
- אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֣ה (et-Mosheh) – Root: משה (Mosheh); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Moshe”.
- עַבְדֹּ֔ו (ʿavdo) – Root: עבד (ʿavad); Form: Noun masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “His servant”.
- לָתֵ֤ת (latet) – Root: נתן (natan); Form: Qal infinitive construct; Translation: “to give”.
- לָכֶם֙ (lakhem) – Root: ל (le-); Form: Preposition with 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “to you”.
- אֶת־כָּל־הָאָ֔רֶץ (et-kol-haʾaretz) – Root: ארץ (ʾaretz); Form: Noun feminine singular with definite article; Translation: “all the land”.
- וּלְהַשְׁמִ֛יד (ulehashmid) – Root: שמד (shamad); Form: Hifil infinitive construct; Translation: “and to destroy”; Notes: Hifil indicates causative action.
- אֶת־כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵ֥י (et-kol-yoshvei) – Root: ישב (yashav); Form: Qal participle masculine plural construct; Translation: “all the inhabitants of”.
- הָאָ֖רֶץ (haʾaretz) – Root: ארץ (ʾaretz); Form: Noun feminine singular with definite article; Translation: “the land”.
- מִפְּנֵיכֶ֑ם (mipneikhem) – Root: פנה (panah); Form: Preposition with plural suffix; Translation: “from before you”.
- וַנִּירָ֨א (vannira) – Root: ירא (yaraʾ); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 1st person plural; Translation: “so we feared”.
- מְאֹ֤ד (meʾod) – Root: מאד (meʾod); Form: Adverb; Translation: “greatly”.
- לְנַפְשֹׁתֵ֨ינוּ֙ (lenafshoteinu) – Root: נפש (nefesh); Form: Noun feminine plural with 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “for our lives”.
- מִפְּנֵיכֶ֔ם (mipneikhem) – Root: פנה (panah); Form: Preposition with plural suffix; Translation: “because of you”.
- וַֽנַּעֲשֵׂ֖ה (vannaʿaseh) – Root: עשה (ʿasah); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 1st person plural; Translation: “and we did”.
- אֶת־הַדָּבָ֥ר (et-haddavar) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Noun masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the thing”.
- הַזֶּֽה׃ (hazzeh) – Root: זה (zeh); Form: Demonstrative pronoun masculine singular; Translation: “this”.