עַ֥ם

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 עַ֥ם

   AM

   a people
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 עַ֥ם לֹא־יָדַ֖עְתִּי

   AM lo-YA-da-TE

   a people I did not know
3. clause🔊 תִּשְׁמְרֵ֙נִי֙ לְרֹ֣אשׁ גּוֹיִ֔ם עַ֥ם לֹא־יָדַ֖עְתִּי יַעַבְדֻֽנִי׃

   ti-she-me-RE-ni le-ROSH go-YIM AM lo-YA-da-TE ya-a-ve-DU-ni

   you kept me as head of nations a people I did not know served me
4. sentence🔊 וַֽתְּפַלְּטֵ֔נִי מֵרִיבֵ֖י עַמִּ֑י תִּשְׁמְרֵ֙נִי֙ לְרֹ֣אשׁ גּוֹיִ֔ם עַ֥ם לֹא־יָדַ֖עְתִּי יַעַבְדֻֽנִי׃

   va-te-fal-TE-ni me-ri-VE a-MI ti-she-me-RE-ni le-ROSH go-YIM AM lo-YA-da-TE ya-a-ve-DU-ni

   and you rescued me from the strivings of my people you kept me as head of nations a people I did not know served me

Exegesis

The final clause am lo-yadati yaavduni {עַם לֹא־יָדַעְתִּי יַעַבְדֻנִי | ʿam lō–yāʿəṯtî yaʿăḇdûnî} ‘a people I did not know serve me’ contrasts perfect and imperfect aspects to highlight a shift from ignorance to submission. The English structure preserves these Hebrew aspectual and relational nuances by segmenting deliverance, elevation, and servitude across distinct clauses.

Root and etymology

Root🔊 ע־מayin–mem

“people”

• 🔊 גּוֹיgôynationGenesis 10:5