וָאַ֨עַן֙ וָֽאֹמַ֔ר אֶל־הַמַּלְאָ֖ךְ הַדֹּבֵ֣ר בִּ֑י מָה־אֵ֖לֶּה אֲדֹנִֽי׃
And I answered and said to the messenger who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”
Morphology
- וָאַעַן (va-aʿan) – Root: ען (ʿanah); Form: Conjunction וָ + Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 1st person masculine singular; Translation: “And I answered”; Notes: The prefixed וָ marks narrative sequence.
- וָאֹמַר (va-omar) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Conjunction וָ + Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 1st person masculine singular; Translation: “and I said”; Notes: Continues the first-person narrative action.
- אֶל (el) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces the indirect object.
- הַמַּלְאָךְ (ha-malach) – Root: לאך (malʾakh); Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the messenger”; Notes: Refers to a heavenly messenger or angelic figure.
- הַדֹּבֵר (ha-dover) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Definite participle masculine singular; Translation: “who was speaking”; Notes: Participial phrase describing ongoing speech.
- בִּי (bi) – Root: ב (b); Form: Preposition בְּ + suffix 1st person singular; Translation: “with me”; Notes: Indicates accompaniment or personal engagement.
- מָה (mah) – Root: מה (mah); Form: Interrogative particle; Translation: “what”; Notes: Introduces a question.
- אֵלֶּה (elleh) – Root: אלה (elleh); Form: Demonstrative pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “are these”; Notes: Points to previously mentioned objects in the vision.
- אֲדֹנִי (adoni) – Root: אדן (adon); Form: Noun masculine singular + suffix 1st person singular; Translation: “my lord”; Notes: A respectful address to the messenger.