| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayiggash {וַיִּגַּ֨שׁ | wayyiḡaš} ‘and he approached’ followed by vayyomer {וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’, framing Elijah’s public address. The interrogative ad-matai {עַד־מָתַי | ʿad-māṯay} ‘how long’ functions as a rhetorical question expressing urgency. The participle potschim {פֹּסְחִים | pôṣḥîm} ‘limping’ with the phrase al-shtei hassēʿîpîm {עַל־שְׁתֵּי הַסְּעִיפִּים | ʿal-štê hassǝʿîpîm} ‘on two branches’ conveys a vivid metaphor of vacillation. This is followed by two parallel conditional clauses, ʾim-Yahweh lĕkū {אִם־יְהוָה לְכוּ | ʾim-Yahweh ləḵû} and wĕ-ʾim-habbaʿal lĕkū {וְאִם־הַבַּעַל לְכוּ | wə-ʾim-habbaʿal ləḵû}, presenting a binary choice of allegiance. The verse concludes with wĕ-lō-ʿanû hā‛ām ʾōtô dāvar {וְלֹֽא־עָנ֥וּ הָעָם אֹת֖וֹ דָּבָֽר | wə-lō-ʿanû hā‛ām ʾōtô dāvar} ‘but the people did not answer him a word’, underscoring their complete silence. |