| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the narrative prefix vav-consecutive in wayehî {וַיְהִ֛י | wayehî} ‘and it happened’, establishing sequential narration. The temporal noun phrase mikkêṣ yāmîm {מִקֵּ֥ץ יָמִ֖ים | mikkêṣ yāmîm} ‘after days’ functions as an adverbial temporal clause. The main clause verb wayyibāš {וַיִּיבַשׁ | wayyibāš} ‘and it dried up’ takes hannāḥal {הַנָּ֑חַל | hannāḥal} ‘the brook’ as its subject. The conjunction kî {כִּ֛י | kî} introduces the causal clause lō-hāyâ gešêm bā-ʾāreṣ {לֹא־הָיָ֥ה גֶשֶׁם בָּאָֽרֶץ | lō-hāyâ gešêm bā-ʾāreṣ} ‘for there was no rain in the land’; lō-hāyâ indicates negated existence. The sequential coordination of temporal and causal clauses highlights cause and effect. The translation preserves Hebrew clause order by placing the temporal phrase first and linking the causal clause with “because.” |