Genesis 37:17-20

Genesis 37:17
וַ	ו: so, then, and consecutive that so that so, then particle, conjunction
יֹּאמֶר	אמר: utter, say verb, qal, prefix, third person, masculine, singular, vav-conv
הָ	ה: the particle, article
אִישׁ	אִישׁ: man noun, common, masculine, singular
נָסְעוּ	נסע: pull out or up, set out, journey verb, qal, affix, third person, common, plural
מִ	מִן: from particle, preposition
זֶּה	זֶה: this, here adjective, masculine, singular  hZ<mi | hZ< is functioning as a substantive meaning this place
כִּי	כִּי: surely, that, because particle, conjunction
שָׁמַעְתִּי	שׁמע: hear verb, qal, affix, first person, common, singular
אֹמְרִים	אמר: utter, say verb, qal, participle, masculine, plural
נֵלְכָה	הלךְ: travel, go verb, qal, prefix, first person, common, plural  Gen.22:5 same word
דֹּתָיְנָה	דֹּתָן: Dothan noun, proper name, directional heh ending
וַ	ו: so, then, and consecutive that so that so, then particle, conjunction
יֵּלֶךְ	הלךְ: travel, go verb, qal, prefix, third person, masculine, singular, vav-conv
יוֹסֵף	יוֹסֵף: Joseph Joseph noun, proper name
אַחַר	אַחַר: after particle, adverb
אֶחָיו	אָח: brother noun, common, masculine, plural, construct with third person, masculine, singular suffix  wyx'a, rx;a; | rx;a; has appeared in different contexts in the readings hL,aeêh' ~yrIb'D>h; rx;a; (Gen.22:1) rx;a; lyIa;-hNEhiw> (Gen.22:13) rB'd>Mih; rx;a; !aCoh;-ta, gh;n>YIw: (Ex.3:1)
וַ	ו: so, then, and consecutive that so that so, then particle, conjunction
יִּמְצָאֵם	מצא: discover, find out verb, qal, prefix, third person, masculine, singular with third person, masculine, plural suffix, vav-conv
בְּ	בּ: in, with, through particle, preposition
דֹתָן	דֹּתָן: Dothan noun, proper name
Genesis 37:18
וַ	ו: so, then, and consecutive that so that so, then particle, conjunction
יִּרְאוּ	ראה: seeing verb, qal, prefix, third person, masculine, plural, vav-conv Is the root more likely to be ary or har (17.5)?
אֹתוֹ	אֵת: particle, direct object with third person, masculine, singular suffix
מֵ	מִן: from particle, preposition
רָחֹק	רָחוֹק: distant, far, et distance adjective, masculine, singular
וּ	ו: so, then, and consecutive that so that so, then particle, conjunction
בְ	בּ: in, with, through particle, preposition
טֶרֶם	טֶרֶם: not yet, ere, before that particle, adverb  A temporal adverb meaning before. It appears as ~r,j,b. or ~r,j, without the initial B
יִקְרַב	קרב: come near, approach verb, qal, prefix, third person, masculine, singular
אֲלֵיהֶם	אֶל: motion to direction towards particle, preposition with third person, masculine, plural suffix
וַ	ו: so, then, and consecutive that so that so, then particle, conjunction
יִּתְנַכְּלוּ	נכל: be crafty verb, hithpael, prefix, third person, masculine, plural, vav-conv The stem of this verb is the Hitpael. It can be recognised in the prefix form by the prefix pronoun followed by t and in every form it has a doubled middle root letter. Like all the derived stems it can have many shades of meaning. It is often intensive and usually either reflexive and/or interactive. Here they planned deceitfully among themselves seems to make the point.
אֹתוֹ	אֵת: particle, direct object with third person, masculine, singular suffix
לַ	ל: to, for, in regard to direction towards reference to particle, preposition
הֲמִיתוֹ	מות: die verb, hiphil, infinitive construct with third person, masculine, singular suffix  Atymih]l; The attached preposition should help with the form, and the suffix is familiar. h] cannot be interrogative h because of its position in the word; the clue to its function lies in the suffix which demands a transitive form of the verb (see 29.1 for help with the root).
Genesis 37:19
וַ	ו: so, then, and consecutive that so that so, then particle, conjunction
יֹּאמְרוּ	אמר: utter, say verb, qal, prefix, third person, masculine, plural, vav-conv
אִישׁ	אִישׁ: man noun, common, masculine, singular
אֶל־	אֶל: motion to direction towards particle, preposition
אָחִיו	אָח: brother noun, common, masculine, singular, construct with third person, masculine, singular suffix  wyxia'-la, vyai Wrm.aYOw: This is an interesting bit of phraseology. We have seen a collective noun taking a singular verb. Now we have just the opposite: a plural verb and what seems to be a singular subject. But vyai meaning a man can imply each man so They said each to his brother would smooth out the English without distorting the meaning of the text.
הִנֵּה	הִנֵּה: lo! behold!; particle, interjection
בַּעַל	בַּעַל: owner, lord noun, common, masculine, singular
הַ	ה: the particle, article
חֲלֹמוֹת	חֲלוֹם: dream noun, common, masculine, plural
הַלָּזֶה	הַלָּזֶה: tthis, there, yonder adjective, masculine, singular  hz<L'h; tAml{x]h; l[;B; This phrase is a complicated construction. First look at hz<L'h; It is considered to be an old form of hz< The adjective hz<L'h; modifies l[;B; though it lies outisde the construct chain. Yet it could not be within the construct chain because theoretically, nothing should come between the word in the construct and the word in the absolute. We should think of hz<L'h; parenthetically, much like r[;n: aWhw> (Gen.37:2). This phrase injects a heavy note of sarcasm.
בָּא	בּוא: come in, come, go in, go verb, qal, participle, masculine, singular  Will you treat this as a participle or an affix form?
Genesis 37:20
וְ	ו: so, then, and consecutive that so that so, then particle, conjunction
עַתָּה	עַתָּה: now so then particle, adverb
לְכוּ	הלךְ: travel, go verb, qal, imperative, masculine, plural
וְ	ו: so, then, and consecutive that so that so, then particle, conjunction
נַהַרְגֵהוּ	הרג: slaughter verb, qal, prefix, first person, common, plural with third person, masculine, singular suffix  Whkeliv.n:w> WhgEr.h;n:w> Wkl. Do you notice that the subject of all these verbs is not the same? This is a feature of Hebrew which is seen quite often. It is not the mark of poor prose; but rather a stylistic device.
וְ	ו: so, then, and consecutive that so that so, then particle, conjunction
נַשְׁלִכֵהוּ	שׁלךְ: throw, fling, cast verb, hiphil, prefix, first person, common, plural with third person, masculine, singular suffix
בְּ	בּ: in, with, through particle, preposition
אַחַד	אֶחָד: gather together adjective, masculine, singular
הַ	ה: the particle, article
בֹּרוֹת	בּוֹר: pit, cistern, well noun, common, masculine, plural  tArBoh; This is a difficult word to look up in the dictionary. When faced with six letters it’s time to do surgery. First to be excised from the contenders for consideration as a root letter is the vowel letter A Then there is the definite article with doubling dagesh in front of the word. Left are one b and r which definitely are root letters and a final t Well, unfortunately trb is not a root. It seems logical then to consider tA as a feminine plural noun ending. That leaves only two letters for the root, so where is the missing letter? Suppose we try 3^rd h There is a root hrb In fact there is more than one. There just isn’t one that makes any sense here. We have to try for another missing letter. What about trying rwb That may work but you will find that the entry may send you to rab [although some dictionaries do list the root as rwb] which is the singular absolute of tArBo The a has elided or so the logic of it would go. raeB. appears in Gen.29:2, 3, and 10 causing no trouble because in those places it is spelled with its three dictionary root letters. One more possibility: rAB and raeB. are not variations in spelling but rather two distinct words. That thought offers little comfort when one has to do battle with a dictionary which lists both under the same root.
וְ	ו: so, then, and consecutive that so that so, then particle, conjunction
אָמַרְנוּ	אמר: utter, say verb, qal, affix, first person, common, plural
חַיָּה	חַיָּה: live noun, common, feminine, singular
רָעָה	רָעָה: evil adjective, feminine, singular  h['r' hY"x; Is hY"x; a 3 m. sg. Qal affix? Check the vowel under the first root letter. Would a Qal affix have a dagesh forte in the middle root letter? The root is hyx [not hyh] and hY"x; is a noun. Now take a look at h['r' In this chapter we have seen h[,ro and h['r" (verse 2), tA[r>li (verse 12), and ~y[iro (verse 13). The root in these words is either [[r or h[r Which root fits here? Imagine listening to this phrase recited. Do you think a double entendre is intended?
אֲכָלָתְהוּ	אכל: eat, devour verb, qal, affix, third person, feminine, singular with third person, masculine, singular suffix  Remove the suffix. Of the consonants left, one group is not a root and the other composes a root which you have seen tl,k,a]M;h; (Gen.22:6), lkoa/l, (Gen.28:20), and lK'au (Ex.3:2). What about the PGN? This verb seems to be pointed for a second person feminine singular subject; but considering the gender and number of the immediately preceding noun and adjective (which are the subject for this verb), you would expect a third person feminine singular affix pronoun. What is going on here? Well, the 3 f. sg. affix pronoun is h ' which, due to the characteristics of h in such a position , cannot be followed by a suffix. So the t is a euphonic substitute. One has to depend on context for such a form to be relieved of its ambiguity.
וְ	ו: so, then, and consecutive that so that so, then particle, conjunction
נִרְאֶה	ראה: seeing verb, qal, prefix, first person, common, plural  It is a reasonable possibility that har is the root. The functions of the conjunction and the n become the issues to consider. The n could be the 1 c. pl. subject pronoun. That would give the verb prefix form and the conjunction could be a simple vav. Perhaps the form is cohortative. In that case the conjunction would express purpose. (see ha,r>a,w> Ex.3:3). Could you make a case for a Nifal here?
מַה־	מָה: what pronoun, interrogative
יִּהְיוּ	היה: be, happen verb, qal, prefix, third person, masculine, plural  What is the subject of this verb? Indeed what is the verb? For the dagesh see 17.3b
חֲלֹמֹתָיו	חֲלוֹם: dream noun, common, masculine, plural, construct with third person, masculine, singular suffix  ~Olx] does not have the plural endiNG you would expect on a masculine noun.