Bible HebrewThe Prophets Isaiah 6:3 · Isaiah 40:8 · Jonah 1:1
How the prophets speak: repetition, contrast, and “the word of yəḥawwe came to…”.
Isaiah 6:3
וְקָרָא זֶה אֶל־זֶה וְאָמַר קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת מְלֹא כָל־הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ
Wəqārā ze ʾel-ze wəʾāmar qādhōsh qādhōsh qādhōsh yəḥawwe ṣəvāʾōth məlō khol-hāʾāreṣ kəvōdhō
“And one called to another and said, “Holy, holy, holy is yəḥawwe of hosts; the fullness of all the earth is his glory.””
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| וְקָרָא | wəqārā | and (one) called |
| זֶה | ze | this one |
| אֶל | ʾel | to |
| זֶה | ze | this one |
| וְאָמַר | wəʾāmar | and said |
| קָדוֹשׁ | qādhōsh | holy |
| קָדוֹשׁ | qādhōsh | holy |
| קָדוֹשׁ | qādhōsh | holy |
| יְהוָה | yəḥawwe | yəḥawwe |
| צְבָאוֹת | ṣəvāʾōth | of hosts |
| מְלֹא | məlō | the fullness of |
| כָל | khol | all |
| הָאָרֶץ | hāʾāreṣ | the earth |
| כְּבוֹדוֹ | kəvōdhō | his glory |
- זֶה: Literally “this to this”: Hebrew's way of saying “one to another”.
- קָדוֹשׁ: Repeating a word is one way Hebrew intensifies meaning. Here קָדוֹשׁ, “holy”, is said three times.
- מְלֹא: Word for word: “the fullness of all the earth — his glory”. Most translations turn this into “the whole earth is full of his glory”.
- וְקָרָא: וְ + a perfect form (weqatal). Here it describes repeated action: they kept calling to each other.
Isaiah 40:8
יָבֵשׁ חָצִיר נָבֵל צִיץ וּדְבַר־אֱלֹהֵינוּ יָקוּם לְעוֹלָם
Yāvēsh ḥāṣīr nāvēl ṣīṣ ūdhəvar-ʾĕlōhēnū yāqūm ləʿōlām
“The grass dries up, the flower withers, but the word of our God stands forever.”
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| יָבֵשׁ | yāvēsh | withers |
| חָצִיר | ḥāṣīr | grass |
| נָבֵל | nāvēl | fades |
| צִיץ | ṣīṣ | flower |
| וּדְבַר | ūdhəvar | but the word of |
| אֱלֹהֵינוּ | ʾĕlōhēnū | our God |
| יָקוּם | yāqūm | stands |
| לְעוֹלָם | ləʿōlām | forever |
- יָבֵשׁ: In both short clauses the verb comes first: “withers grass, fades flower”. The perfect here states what always happens.
- וּדְבַר: וְ usually means “and”, but it can mean “but” when it sets up a contrast. Here the subject also comes first, which highlights it: “but the word of our God…”.
- יָקוּם: Imperfect of קוּם (“rise, stand”), an ongoing or future action, set against the two perfects before it.
- לְעוֹלָם: לְ + עוֹלָם: “for a very long time, forever”. עוֹלָם means a very long time, in the past or the future.
Jonah 1:1
וַיְהִי דְּבַר־יְהוָה אֶל־יוֹנָה בֶן־אֲמִתַּי לֵאמֹר
Wayhī dəvar-yəḥawwe ʾel-yōnā ven-ʾămittay lēmōr
“And the word of yəḥawwe came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying:”
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִי | wayhī | and it was / came |
| דְּבַר | dəvar | the word of |
| יְהוָה | yəḥawwe | yəḥawwe |
| אֶל | ʾel | to |
| יוֹנָה | yōnā | Jonah |
| בֶן | ven | son of |
| אֲמִתַּי | ʾămittay | Amittai |
| לֵאמֹר | lēmōr | saying |
- וַיְהִי: The book begins with וַיְהִי, “and it was”, the form that usually continues a story. Several Hebrew books open this way, as if picking up a longer story.
- דְּבַר: A construct chain: דְּבַר “word of” + יְהוָה. “The word of yəḥawwe came to ___” is a standard way of introducing a prophet's message.
- לֵאמֹר: לְ + the infinitive of אָמַר: “to say”, that is, “saying”. It works like opening quotation marks.
- יוֹנָה: The name יוֹנָה also means “dove”.
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