| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with vattara {וַתָּ֣רַע | wat-ta-raʿ} ‘and you did evil’, a vav consecutive form introducing a past action with judicial rebuke. The infinitive construct la‘asot {לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת | la-ʿa-sot} ‘to do’ intensifies the wrongdoing, while mikol {מִכֹּ֖ל | mi-kol} ‘more than all’ plus the relative asher-hayu {אֲשֶׁר־הָי֣וּ | ʾa-šer-hā-yū} ‘that were’ and lefanekha {לְפָנֶ֑יךָ | le-fa-nei-kha} ‘before you’ marks a comparative superlative. The sequence vatteilekh {וַתֵּ֡לֶךְ | wat-te-lekh} ‘and you went’ and vatta‘aseh-lekha {וַתַּעֲשֶׂה־לְּךָ֩ | wat-ta-‘a-se-le-kha} ‘and you made for yourself’ indicates deliberate idolatrous choice. The construct chain elohim acheirim umassekhot {אֱלֹהִ֨ים אֲחֵרִ֤ים וּמַסֵּכוֹת֙ | ʾĕ-lo-hîm ʾa-ḥe-rim u-mas-se-khot} emphasizes both the category of false gods and the material of the images. The Hiphil infinitive lehakh‘iseni {לְהַכְעִיסֵ֔נִי | le-ḥaḵ-‘i-se-nî} ‘to provoke me’ conveys intentional arousal of divine anger, and the sequence ve-oti hishlakhta acharei gavekha {וְאֹתִ֥י הִשְׁלַ֖כְתָּ אַחֲרֵ֥י גַוֶּֽךָ | ve-ʾo-tî hiš-la-ḵa-tā a-ḥa-rê gav-ḗ-kha} places the object me before the verb to highlight personal affront, ending with the spatial metaphor ‘behind your back’, signifying complete rejection. |