| 16. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with vayomer {וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | va-yō-mer}, a vav-consecutive introducing reported speech. The negative particle lo {לֹ֥א | lō} combines with the modal verb ukhal {אוּכַל | ū-khal} to express inability. Two Qal infinitive constructs lashuv {לָשׁ֥וּב | lā-shūv} ‘to return’ and velavo {וְלָב֣וֹא | wə-lā-vō} ‘to come’ form parallel complements, each followed by the emphatic ittach {אִתָּ֖ךְ | it-tākh} ‘with you.’ The cluster velo-okhal {וְלֹֽא־אֹ֣כַל | wə-lō-ʾo-khal} and velo-eshteh {וְלֹֽא־אֶשְׁתֶּ֤ה | wə-lō-ʾe-sh-teh} employ conjunction + negative to underscore the refusal of eating and drinking. The prepositional phrase bamaqom hazeh {בַּמָּק֖וֹם הַזֶּֽה | ba-ma-qōm ha-zeh} localizes the prohibition. English preserves the Hebrew parallelism and aspect by using modal auxiliaries (“am not able,” “will not”) and repeating structure. |