וַתְּדַבֵּ֨ר מִרְיָ֤ם וְאַהֲרֹן֙ בְּמֹשֶׁ֔ה עַל־אֹדֹ֛ות הָאִשָּׁ֥ה הַכֻּשִׁ֖ית אֲשֶׁ֣ר לָקָ֑ח כִּֽי־אִשָּׁ֥ה כֻשִׁ֖ית לָקָֽח׃
And Miryam and Aharon spoke against Moshe concerning the Kushite woman whom he had taken, for he had taken a Kushite woman.
Morphology
- וַתְּדַבֵּ֨ר (va-tedabber) – Root: דבר (d-b-r); Form: Piel imperfect with vav consecutive, 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “And she spoke”; Notes: Refers to Miryam initiating the speech.
- מִרְיָ֤ם (Miryam) – Root: מרם (m-r-y-m); Form: Proper noun, feminine singular; Translation: “Miryam”; Notes: Sister of Moshe and Aharon.
- וְאַהֲרֹן֙ (ve-Aharon) – Root: אהר (ʾ-h-r); Form: Proper noun, masculine singular; Translation: “And Aharon”; Notes: Brother of Moshe and Miryam.
- בְּמֹשֶׁ֔ה (be-Moshe) – Root: משה (m-sh-h); Form: Proper noun with preposition; Translation: “Against Moshe”; Notes: Refers to their brother, the leader of Yisra’el.
- עַל־אֹדֹ֛ות (ʿal-odot) – Root: אדות (ʾ-d-w-t); Form: Noun, feminine plural construct with preposition; Translation: “Concerning”; Notes: Introduces the topic of their complaint.
- הָאִשָּׁ֥ה (ha-ishah) – Root: אשה (ʾ-sh-h); Form: Noun, feminine singular with definite article; Translation: “The woman”; Notes: Refers to the Cushite woman.
- הַכֻּשִׁ֖ית (ha-Kushit) – Root: כוש (k-w-sh); Form: Adjective, feminine singular with definite article; Translation: “The Cushite”; Notes: Describes her ethnicity.
- אֲשֶׁ֣ר (asher) – Root: None; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “Whom”; Notes: Refers back to the woman.
- לָקָ֑ח (laqach) – Root: לקח (l-q-ḥ); Form: Qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “He had taken”; Notes: Refers to Moshe marrying the woman.
- כִּֽי־אִשָּׁ֥ה (ki-ishah) – Root: אשה (ʾ-sh-h); Form: Conjunction with noun, feminine singular; Translation: “For a woman”; Notes: Indicates the reason for their speech.
- כֻשִׁ֖ית (Kushit) – Root: כוש (k-w-sh); Form: Adjective, feminine singular; Translation: “Cushite”; Notes: Reiterates her ethnicity.
- לָקָֽח (laqach) – Root: לקח (l-q-ḥ); Form: Qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “He had taken”; Notes: Repeated for emphasis.