2 Kings 5:13

Authorized King James Version (1611)

And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, [if] the prophet had bid thee [do some] great thing, wouldest thou not have done [it]? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיִּגְּשׁ֣וּ עֲבָדָיו֮ וַיְדַבְּר֣וּ אֵלָיו֒ וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ אָבִי֙ דָּבָ֣ר גָּד֗וֹל הַנָּבִ֛יא דִּבֶּ֥ר אֵלֶ֖יךָ הֲל֣וֹא תַעֲשֶׂ֑ה וְאַ֛ף כִּֽי־אָמַ֥ר אֵלֶ֖יךָ רְחַ֥ץ וּטְהָֽר׃

Transliteration

wa-yiggəšû ʿăḇādāyw wa-yədabbərû ʾēlāyw wa-yōʾmərû ʾāḇî dāḇār gādôl ha-nāḇîʾ dibber ʾēlêkā hălôʾ taʿăśeh wə-ʾap kî-ʾāmar ʾēlêkā rəḥaṣ û-ṭəhār

Grammar Details

• *wa-yiggəšû*: conjunction with qal imperfect, 3rd masculine plural - and they approached
• *ʿăḇādāyw*: noun, masculine plural with 3rd masculine singular suffix - his servants
• *wa-yədabbərû*: conjunction with piel imperfect, 3rd masculine plural - and they spoke
• *ʾēlāyw*: preposition with 3rd masculine singular suffix - to him
• *wa-yōʾmərû*: conjunction with qal imperfect, 3rd masculine plural - and they said
• *ʾāḇî*: noun, masculine singular with 1st singular suffix - my father
• *dāḇār*: noun, masculine singular - word/thing
• *gādôl*: adjective, masculine singular - great
• *ha-nāḇîʾ*: definite article with noun, masculine singular - the prophet
• *dibber*: piel perfect, 3rd masculine singular - spoke
• *ʾēlêkā*: preposition with 2nd masculine singular suffix - to you
• *hălôʾ*: interrogative particle with negative - would you not
• *taʿăśeh*: qal imperfect, 2nd masculine singular - do
• *wə-ʾap*: conjunction with adverb - how much more
• *kî*: conjunction - when
• *ʾāmar*: qal perfect, 3rd masculine singular - he said
• *rəḥaṣ*: qal imperative, masculine singular - wash
• *û-ṭəhār*: conjunction with qal imperative, masculine singular - and be clean

Word Meanings

• *ʾāḇî*: my father (respectful address to master)
• *dāḇār gādôl*: great thing/important matter
• *wə-ʾap kî*: how much more/all the more

Referenced Verses

• 2 Kgs 6:21 : 21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite [them]? shall I smite [them]?
• 2 Kgs 2:12 : 12 And Elisha saw [it], and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
• 2 Kgs 13:14 : 14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
• Job 32:8-9 : 8 But [there is] a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 9 Great men are not [always] wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
• Ps 51:2 : 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
• Ps 51:7 : 7 ¶ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
• Isa 1:16 : 16 ¶ Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
• Jer 38:7-9 : 7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; 8 Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, 9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for [there is] no more bread in the city. 10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
• Mal 1:6 : 6 ¶ A son honoureth [his] father, and a servant his master: if then I [be] a father, where [is] mine honour? and if I [be] a master, where [is] my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
• Matt 23:9 : 9 ‹And call no› [man] ‹your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.›
• John 13:8 : 8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, ‹If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.›
• Acts 22:16 : 16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
• 1 Cor 1:21 : 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
• 1 Cor 1:27 : 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
• 1 Cor 4:15 : 15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet [have ye] not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
• Eph 5:26-27 : 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
• Titus 3:5 : 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
• Heb 10:22 : 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
• 1 Pet 3:21 : 21 ¶ The like figure whereunto [even] baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
• Rev 7:14 : 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
• 2 Kgs 5:3 : 3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord [were] with the prophet that [is] in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
• 2 Kgs 5:10 : 10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
• 2 Kgs 8:9 : 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
• Gen 41:43 : 43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him [ruler] over all the land of Egypt.
• 1 Sam 25:14-17 : 14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them. 15 But the men [were] very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields: 16 They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he [is such] a son of Belial, that [a man] cannot speak to him.
• 1 Kgs 20:23 : 23 And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods [are] gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
• 1 Kgs 20:31 : 31 ¶ And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel [are] merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life.