וַיֹּ֤אמֶר בִּלְעָם֙ לָֽאָתֹ֔ון כִּ֥י הִתְעַלַּ֖לְתְּ בִּ֑י ל֤וּ יֶשׁ־חֶ֨רֶב֙ בְּיָדִ֔י כִּ֥י עַתָּ֖ה הֲרַגְתִּֽיךְ׃
And Bilʿam said to the donkey, “Because you have mocked me! If only there were a sword in my hand, I would have killed you by now.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (vayomer) – Root: אמר (amar); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular with vav-consecutive; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Refers to Bilʿam speaking.
- בִּלְעָם֙ (Bilʿam) – Root: בלע (balaʿ); Form: Proper noun, masculine singular; Translation: “Bilʿam”; Notes: The subject of the speech.
- לָֽאָתֹ֔ון (laʾaton) – Root: אתן (aton); Form: Noun, feminine singular with preposition and definite article; Translation: “to the donkey”; Notes: The recipient of the speech.
- כִּ֥י (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “because”; Notes: Introduces the reason for Bilʿam’s anger.
- הִתְעַלַּ֖לְתְּ (hitʿallalt) – Root: עלל (ʿalal); Form: Hitpael perfect 2nd person feminine singular; Translation: “you have mocked”; Notes: Refers to the donkey’s perceived actions.
- בִּ֑י (bi) – Root: ב (be); Form: Preposition with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “me”; Notes: Direct object of the verb.
- ל֤וּ (lu) – Root: לו (lu); Form: Conditional particle; Translation: “If only”; Notes: Introduces a hypothetical condition.
- יֶשׁ־חֶ֨רֶב֙ (yesh-cherev) – Root: חרב (cherev); Form: Particle with noun, masculine singular; Translation: “there were a sword”; Notes: Indicates a wish for a weapon.
- בְּיָדִ֔י (beyadi) – Root: יד (yad); Form: Noun, feminine singular with preposition and 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “in my hand”; Notes: Refers to Bilʿam’s hypothetical possession.
- כִּ֥י (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for”; Notes: Explains the consequence of the hypothetical.
- עַתָּ֖ה (attah) – Root: עתה (attah); Form: Adverb; Translation: “now”; Notes: Emphasizes immediacy.
- הֲרַגְתִּֽיךְ (haragtik) – Root: הרג (harag); Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular with 2nd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “I would have killed you”; Notes: Expresses the hypothetical action.