בַּמָּה֙ אֲקַדֵּ֣ם יְהוָ֔ה אִכַּ֖ף לֵאלֹהֵ֣י מָרֹ֑ום הַאֲקַדְּמֶ֣נּוּ בְעֹולֹ֔ות בַּעֲגָלִ֖ים בְּנֵ֥י שָׁנָֽה׃
With what shall I come before YHWH, shall I bow to the God of height? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Morphology
- בַּמָּה (ba-mah) — Root: מה (mah); Form: Preposition בְּ + interrogative pronoun; Translation: “With what”; Notes: Introduces a question about proper approach to YHWH.
- אֲקַדֵּם (’akad·dem) — Root: קדם (qadam); Form: Piel imperfect 1cs; Translation: “shall I come before”; Notes: Piel conveys ceremonial approaching.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) — Root: הוה (havah); Form: Proper divine name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The covenant God approached in worship.
- אִכַּף (’ikkaf) — Root: כף (kaf); Form: Hifil imperfect 1cs; Translation: “shall I bow”; Notes: Hifil here expresses causing oneself to bend in worship.
- לֵאלֹהֵי (le’elohei) — Root: אלוה (’eloah); Form: Preposition לְ + noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “to the God of”; Notes: Marks the recipient of worship.
- מָרֹום (marom) — Root: רום (rum); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “height”; Notes: A title emphasizing God’s exalted nature.
- הַאֲקַדְּמֶנּוּ (ha’akad·demennu) — Root: קדם (qadam); Form: Interrogative הֲ + Piel imperfect 1cs + suffix 3ms; Translation: “shall I come before Him”; Notes: Repeated verb for rhetorical emphasis.
- בְעֹולֹות (be-’olot) — Root: עלה (ʿalah); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun feminine plural; Translation: “with burnt offerings”; Notes: Refers to whole-burnt sacrifices.
- בַּעֲגָלִים (ba-ʿagalim) — Root: עגל (ʿegel); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine plural; Translation: “with calves”; Notes: Specifies the type of offering.
- בְּנֵי (bene) — Root: בן (ben); Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “sons of”; Notes: Introduces the age category of the calves.
- שָׁנָה (shanah) — Root: שׁנה (shanah); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “a year”; Notes: “Year-old calves,” prized for sacrifice.