DailyHebrew.com

Vocabulary

Verse 4   

טוּל  verb: Hiphil perfect 3ms meaning hurl.

חשׁב  verb: Piel perfect 3fs meaning threatened

שׁבר  verb: Niphal infinitive construct meaning break + ל. 

Verse 5   

זָעַק  verb: Qal preterit 3mp + vav consecutive meaning crys out.

קָלַל  verb: Hiphil infinitive construct meaning lighten.

רָדַם verb: Niphal imperfect 3ms meaning heavy sleep 

Verse 6

רַב noun: the captain

עָשַׁת verb: Hithpael imperfect 3ms conveying idea of perhaps God will consider us (only occurrence in BH).

Syntax & Misc.

Verse 4

• The verse begins with a disjunctive structure of vav + subject + verb, functioning as a disjunctive clause, and likely in an introductory state which serves to introduce a new scene.
• The dagesh in the בּ is the result of the missing definite article.
• The verse ends with the same disjunctive structure that it began with, likely acting as a dramatic disjunctive clause containing a Piel perfect 3fs and a Niphal infinitive construct.

Verse 5

• The definite subject (nominative) of the verb is the plural word for mariner/sailor, which in this form, with a double middle root letter, is often a profession in which an action is typically repeated (Chisholm, Workbook 34).
• The accusative is easily identified by אֶת־
• The next major section of the verse (after the atnah) contains a disjunctive structure (vav-subject-verb), which likely functions either dramatically or contrastively

Verse 6

• The interrogative מַה introduces the accusative of condition construction meaning what do you mean you sleeper (Davidson, p 100)

I will be out of the country for the next couple of weeks, but never fear DailyHebrew.com will live on thanks to my protégé, Brian.  He plans to provide a reading guide to the Book of Jonah (check out his first post–Jonah 1:1-3). 

Please be kind to him in my absence.

¹ וַֽיְהִי֙ דְּבַר־יְהוָ֔ה אֶל־יוֹנָ֥ה בֶן־אֲמִתַּ֖י לֵאמֹֽר׃

2     ק֠וּם לֵ֧ךְ אֶל־נִֽינְוֵ֛ה הָעִ֥יר הַגְּדוֹלָ֖ה וּקְרָ֣א עָלֶ֑יהָ כִּֽי־עָלְתָ֥ה רָעָתָ֖ם לְפָנָֽי׃

3     וַיָּ֤קָם יוֹנָה֙ לִבְרֹ֣חַ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י יְהוָ֑ה וַיֵּ֨רֶד יָפ֜וֹ וַיִּמְצָ֥א אָנִיָּ֣ה׀^* בָּאָ֣ה תַרְשִׁ֗ישׁ וַיִּתֵּ֨ן שְׂכָרָ֜הּ וַיֵּ֤רֶד בָּהּ֙ לָב֤וֹא עִמָּהֶם֙ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י יְהוָֽה׃

Vocabulary

Verse 1   

היה   verb: Qal imperfect 3ms + vav consecutive with apocopated ה ending meaning “come to pass.”

יוֹנה  name: “Jonah”

אמתי  name: “Amattai” (BDB 54)

Verse 2   

קום  verb: Qal imperative 2ms which means “arise.”

הלך  verb: Qal imperative 2ms with apocopated ה and means “go.”

נינוה  name: “Ninevah”

קרא  verb: Qal imperative 2ms meaning “call out/preach”

עלה  verb: Qal perfect 3fs from the 3^rd ה verb meaning “went/gone up”

רע  noun: with 3mp suffix meaning “evil”

Verse 3   

ברח  verb: Qal infinitive construct + ל meaning “to flee”

תרשׁישׁה  name: “Tarshish”

ירד  verb: Qal preterit 3ms

יפו  name: “Joppa”

אניה  noun: “ship”

באה verb: Qal active participle fs meaning “going”

שׂכר noun: with 3fs suffix meaning “fare” 

Syntax & Misc.

Verse 1

• וַיְהִי Qal imperfect + vav consecutive (wayyiqtol) is commonly found at the beginning of a narrative, prophetic or instructional sections, and the vav attached to the imperfect should generally be left untranslated.
• The subsequent construct nouns (בֶן־אֲמִתַּ֖י ) are in apposition with Jonah, which serves to further clarify who Jonah is.  The genitive in this construct is a genitive of relationship marking kinship.
• לֵאמֹר is a normal indicator of direct quotations, or marked speech.  Additionally, after the verb היה a ל followed by an infinitive construct functions as the predicate of the clause and bears a connotation of imminence (BHRG, 155).

Verse 2

• Two Qal imperatives side by side (ק֠וּם לֵ֧ךְ) without a conjoining vav indicates a sense of urgency.
• Nineveh is followed by the noun עִ֥יר which is appositional to it.  עִ֥יר agrees with the noun in respect of determination.  The article, which is likely functioning either as Naming or Definite Place, is normal for determinate nouns (Arnold, 30).  In the present case a definite attributive adjective (הַגְּדוֹלָ֖ה) is present as well.  When multiple attributives are constructed on a single noun, each adjective takes the article if the noun is determinate. It appears here that both nouns are attributes in apposition with Nineveh; however, an adjective cannot directly qualify a proper noun and it is best to translate this phrase Nineveh the great (Jouon, §138a, §141c).
• The particle (כִּֽי) introduces a dependent clause.
• What has went up is the noun רָעָתָ֖ם (evil), which has a 3mp suffix acting as a genitive to the noun.  The antecedent of evil is likely that of the inhabitants of the city previously mentioned.

Verse 3

• The zaqef qaton ( ֔ ) marks the first major junction in the verse and is under the accusative noun Tarshish, which possesses a directional ָה and functions as an Accusative of Direction.
• The form עִמָּהֶם֙ is a preposition with 3mp suffix and its antecedent is implied as the sailors.

וַֽיַּחְפְּרוּ֙ בְּאֵ֣ר אַחֶ֔רֶת וַיָּרִ֖יבוּ גַּם־עָלֶ֑יהָ וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמָ֖הּ שִׂטְנָֽה׃ 22 וַיַּעְתֵּ֣ק מִשָּׁ֗ם וַיַּחְפֹּר֙ בְּאֵ֣ר אַחֶ֔רֶת וְלֹ֥א רָב֖וּ עָלֶ֑יהָ וַיִּקְרָ֤א שְׁמָהּ֙ רְחֹב֔וֹת וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כִּֽי־עַתָּ֞ה הִרְחִ֧יב יְהוָ֛ה לָ֖נוּ וּפָרִ֥ינוּ בָאָֽרֶץ׃

Vocabulary

Verse 21

            חפר  verb: “dig” (BDB, 343)

            באר  noun: “well” (BDB, 91)

            אחר adjective (feminine singular): “another”

            ריב  verb: “strive, contend, quarrel”

            שֹטנה  name: “Sitnah”

Verse 22

עתק  verb (Hiphil waw-consecutive imperfect 3ms): “move forward, proceed” (BDB, 801)

            חפר  verb: “dig” (BDB, 343)

            באר  noun: “well” (BDB, 91)

            ריב  verb: “strive, contend, quarrel”

            רחבות  name: “Rehoboth” (BDB, 932)

            רחב  verb (Hiphil perfect 3ms): “enlarge, make large” (BDB, 931)

            פרה  verb (Qal waw-conjunctive perfect 1cpl): “be fruitful” (BDB, 826)

Syntax & Misc.

Verse 21

• Sentence Typology 1 (וַֽיַּחְפְּרוּ֙ בְּאֵ֣ר אַחֶ֔רֶת): V-O
• Sentence Typology 2 (וַיָּרִ֖יבוּ גַּם־עָלֶ֑יהָ): V-M
• The 3fs suffix refers to the באר אחרת.
• Sentence Typology 3 (וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמָ֖הּ שִׂטְנָֽה): V-O-OC
• The proper name, שֹטנה (from a root meaning “adversary, enmity”), serves syntactically as the OC [Object Complement].

Verse 22

• Sentence Typology 1 (וַיַּעְתֵּ֣ק מִשָּׁ֗ם): V-M
• The subject referent is Isaac (cf. vs. 18).
• Sentence Typology 2 (וַיַּחְפֹּר֙ בְּאֵ֣ר אַחֶ֔רֶת): V-O
• Sentence Typology 3 (וְלֹ֥א רָב֖וּ עָלֶ֑יהָ): V-M
• The non sentence initial verb (waw + non-verb) marks a disjunctive clause.
• Sentence Typology 4 (וַיִּקְרָ֤א שְׁמָהּ֙ רְחֹב֔וֹת): V-O-OC
• Notice the similar naming construction from the previous verse.
• Sentence Typology 5 (וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כִּֽי־עַתָּ֞ה הִרְחִ֧יב יְהוָ֛ה לָ֖נוּ וּפָרִ֥ינוּ בָאָֽרֶץ): V-O
• The particle, כי, is used to subordinate an object clause (GKC 157b).
• Embedded Typology A (עַתָּ֞ה הִרְחִ֧יב יְהוָ֛ה לָ֖נוּ): M-V-S-M
• Notice the use of the perfect, הרחיב, in contemporaneous time, עתה.  This type of use is difficult to explain with a simple tense based verbal system.
• The final phrase, לנו, is may be understood as prepositional (rather than as an objective), “for us.”
• Embedded Typology B (וּפָרִ֥ינוּ בָאָֽרֶץ): V-M
• The initial verb is waw-consecutive perfect (only the 1cs and 2ms are distinguished by the penultimate stress pattern with waw, cf. GKC 49h).  This indicates an imperfective aspect (see GKC 112x : “to announce future events”).

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