וְאָנֹכִ֖י

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 וְאָנֹכִ֖י

   ve-a-no-KHI

   and I
2. clause🔊 וַיֹּ֣אמֶר דָּוִ֗ד הַֽנְקַלָּ֤ה בְעֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ הִתְחַתֵּ֣ן בַּמֶּ֔לֶךְ וְאָנֹכִ֖י אִֽישׁ־רָ֥שׁ וְנִקְלֶֽה׃

   va-yo-MER da-VID han-ka-LA ve-e-ne-KHEM hit-khat-TEN ba-ME-lekh ve-a-no-KHI ish-RASH ve-nik-LE

   and he said David is it a light thing in your eyes to become son-in-law to the king and I a man poor and lightly regarded
3. sentence🔊 וַֽיְדַבְּר֞וּ עַבְדֵ֤י שָׁאוּל֙ בְּאָזְנֵ֣י דָוִ֔ד אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵ֑לֶּה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר דָּוִ֗ד הַֽנְקַלָּ֤ה בְעֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ הִתְחַתֵּ֣ן בַּמֶּ֔לֶךְ וְאָנֹכִ֖י אִֽישׁ־רָ֥שׁ וְנִקְלֶֽה׃

   va-ye-da-be-RU av-DE sha-UL be-oz-NE da-VID et-ha-de-va-RIM ha-E-le va-yo-MER da-VID han-ka-LA ve-e-ne-KHEM hit-khat-TEN ba-ME-lekh ve-a-no-KHI ish-RASH ve-nik-LE

   and they spoke servants of Saul in the ears of David {direct object} the words these and he said David is it a light thing in your eyes to become son-in-law to the king and I a man poor and lightly regarded

Exegesis

David’s self-description veanokhi ish-rash vuniqleh {וְאָנֹכִ֖י אִֽישׁ־רָ֥שׁ וְנִקְלֶֽה | wəʾānōkhî ʾîš-rāš wənīqleh} ‘and I am a poor and insignificant man’ employs a coordinated noun-adjective plus passive participle to underscore humility and social unworthiness. The Hebrew verbal-consecutive and prepositional constructs are rendered in English as a single cohesive sentence preserving the rhetorical question and contrast.