Gen. 25:32 [Samaritan Pentateuch]
ויאמר עשו הנה אנכי הלך למות ולמה זה לי בכרה
Gen. 25:32 [Masoretic Text]
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר עֵשָׂ֔ו הִנֵּ֛ה אָנֹכִ֥י הֹולֵ֖ךְ לָמ֑וּת וְלָמָּה־זֶּ֥ה לִ֖י בְּכֹרָֽה׃
And ʿEsav said, “Behold, I am going to die, and why then do I need the birthright?”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (Vayyomer) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Qal, wayyiqtol (past narrative), 3ms; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Marks Esav’s response.
- עֵשָׂ֔ו (Esav) – Root: עשׂו (ʿ-s-v); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Esav”; Notes: Refers to the older son of Yitsḥaq.
- הִנֵּ֛ה (Hinne) – Root: Particle; Form: Interjection; Translation: “Behold”; Notes: Expresses immediacy or emphasis.
- אָנֹכִ֥י (ʾAnokhi) – Root: Pronoun; Form: 1cs; Translation: “I”; Notes: First-person singular emphasizing Esav’s personal state.
- הֹולֵ֖ךְ (Holekh) – Root: הלך (h-l-k); Form: Qal, participle, ms; Translation: “Going”; Notes: Indicates continuous action, “I am going.”
- לָמ֑וּת (Lamuth) – Root: מות (m-w-t); Form: Qal, infinitive construct; Translation: “To die”; Notes: Esav speaks of his presumed impending death.
- וְלָמָּה־זֶּ֥ה (Velammah-zeh) – Root: למה (l-m-h) and זה (z-h); Form: Interrogative with demonstrative pronoun; Translation: “And why then”; Notes: Expresses a rhetorical question.
- לִ֖י (Li) – Root: Pronoun; Form: Prepositional phrase with 1cs suffix; Translation: “To me”; Notes: Refers to Esav personally.
- בְּכֹרָֽה (Bekhorah) – Root: בכר (b-k-r); Form: Noun, fs; Translation: “Birthright”; Notes: Refers to the privileges of the firstborn.
