וִיהֵי בָּתַר כֵּן אֶשְׁפּוֹךְ יַת רוּחַ קוּדְשִׁי עַל כָּל בִּסְרָא וְיִתְנַבּוּן בְּנֵיכוֹן וּבְנָתֵיכוֹן סָבֵיכוֹן חֶלְמִין יַחְלְמוּן עוּלֵמֵיכוֹן חֶזְוָנִין יֶחֱזוּן:
And it shall be afterward, I will pour out My Holy Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your elders shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
Dramatic Monologue: The Spirit Speaks
In this prophetic promise, Targum Jonathan renders the descent of the Spirit in grammatically rich forms: Peʿal and Hitpaʿal futures, direct object markers, and possessive chains express divine intention, human transformation, and generational reach.
1. וִיהֵי בָּתַר כֵּן — “And it shall be afterward”
– וִיהֵי — Peʿal imperfect 3ms of הוה, “it shall be.” A prophetic time marker.
– בָּתַר כֵּן — “after this,” an Aramaic temporal phrase equivalent to Hebrew אַחֲרֵי־כֵן.
2. אֶשְׁפּוֹךְ יַת רוּחַ קוּדְשִׁי — “I will pour out My Holy Spirit”
– אֶשְׁפּוֹךְ — Peʿal imperfect 1cs of שפך, “I will pour.”
– יַת — Direct object marker, used before definite nouns.
– רוּחַ קוּדְשִׁי — “My Holy Spirit,” construct phrase:
– רוּחַ = “spirit”
– קוּדְשִׁי = “My holiness” (from קֳדֶשׁ, + first cs suffix)
3. עַל כָּל בִּסְרָא — “upon all flesh”
– בִּסְרָא — “flesh,” Aramaic for human beings (cf. Hebrew בָּשָׂר).
– Emphasizes universality of spiritual outpouring.
4. וְיִתְנַבּוּן בְּנֵיכוֹן וּבְנָתֵיכוֹן — “Your sons and daughters shall prophesy”
– יִתְנַבּוּן — Hitpaʿal imperfect 3mp of נבא, “they will prophesy.” Reflexive stem implies inspired action.
– בְּנֵיכוֹן / בְּנָתֵיכוֹן — “your sons / your daughters,” construct + 2mp suffix.
5. סָבֵיכוֹן חֶלְמִין יַחְלְמוּן — “Your elders shall dream dreams”
– סָבֵיכוֹן — “your elders,” plural form of סָבָא (old man) + 2mp suffix.
– חֶלְמִין — “dreams,” plural noun.
– יַחְלְמוּן — Peʿal imperfect 3mp of חלם, “they shall dream.”
6. עוּלֵמֵיכוֹן חֶזְוָנִין יֶחֱזוּן — “Your young men shall see visions”
– עוּלֵמֵיכוֹן — “your young men,” from עוּלֵם + second mp suffix.
– חֶזְוָנִין — “visions,” plural of חֶזוּ.
– יֶחֱזוּן — Peʿal imperfect 3mp of חזא, “they will see.”
Vision and Voice Table
| Phrase | Translation | Grammar Notes |
|---|---|---|
| אֶשְׁפּוֹךְ יַת רוּחַ קוּדְשִׁי | I will pour out My Holy Spirit | Peʿal imperfect 1cs + direct object + construct phrase |
| יִתְנַבּוּן | they shall prophesy | Hitpaʿal imperfect 3mp (reflexive) |
| יַחְלְמוּן / יֶחֱזוּן | they shall dream / see | Peʿal imperfect 3mp verbs |
| בְּנֵיכוֹן / סָבֵיכוֹן / עוּלֵמֵיכוֹן | your sons / elders / young men | Noun + 2mp pronominal suffix |
Scroll Ends, But Echoes Remain
This is prophecy by grammar: participles carry promise, imperfects project into the future, and Hitpaʿal verbs catch the fire of inspiration. In Targum Jonathan, the Spirit’s outpouring flows with syntactic purpose. Not just upon the prophets—but upon the morphology of the people.
When the Spirit moves, syntax becomes vision.
