וַיִּקָּ֤ר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־בִּלְעָ֔ם וַיָּ֥שֶׂם דָּבָ֖ר בְּפִ֑יו וַיֹּ֛אמֶר שׁ֥וּב אֶל־בָּלָ֖ק וְכֹ֥ה תְדַבֵּֽר׃
And YHWH met Bilʿam and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balaq, and thus you shall speak.”
Morphology
- וַיִּקָּ֤ר (vayyiqar) – Root: קרה (qarah); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular with vav-consecutive; Translation: “And he met”; Notes: Indicates divine encounter.
- יְהוָה֙ (YHWH) – Root: הוה (hawah); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The Tetragrammaton, referring to the LORD.
- אֶל־בִּלְעָ֔ם (el-Bilʿam) – Root: בלעם (Bilʿam); Form: Preposition with proper noun; Translation: “to Balaam”; Notes: Refers to the prophet Balaam.
- וַיָּ֥שֶׂם (vayyāśem) – Root: שם (śim); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular with vav-consecutive; Translation: “And he put”; Notes: Indicates placing of words in Balaam’s mouth.
- דָּבָ֖ר (dāvar) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “word”; Notes: Refers to the message from YHWH.
- בְּפִ֑יו (bepiv) – Root: פה (peh); Form: Noun, masculine singular construct with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “in his mouth”; Notes: Refers to Balaam’s mouth.
- וַיֹּ֛אמֶר (vayyōmer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular with vav-consecutive; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: YHWH speaking to Balaam.
- שׁ֥וּב (shuv) – Root: שוב (shuv); Form: Qal imperative masculine singular; Translation: “Return”; Notes: Command given to Balaam.
- אֶל־בָּלָ֖ק (el-Bālaq) – Root: בלק (Bālaq); Form: Preposition with proper noun; Translation: “to Balak”; Notes: Refers to the king of Moab.
- וְכֹ֥ה (ve-koh) – Root: כה (koh); Form: Conjunction with adverb; Translation: “and thus”; Notes: Introduces the forthcoming message.
- תְדַבֵּֽר׃ (tedabber) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Piel imperfect 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “you shall speak”; Notes: Instruction to Balaam regarding the message.