| 26. Linguistic Exegesis The account uses a sequence of vav-consecutive verbs to drive the narrative: vayikchu {וַ֠יִּקְחוּ | vaiyyiqḥû} ‘and they took’, vaya‘asu {וַֽיַּעֲשׂוּ | vāya‘ăśû} ‘and they prepared’, vayiqre’u {וַיִּקְרְא֣וּ | vāyiqrē’û} ‘and they called’, highlighting uninterrupted ritual actions. The direct object marker ’ēt {אֶת־ | ’ēt} foregrounds the bull as the offering. The temporal expression mēhabbōqer wə‘ăd haṣṣōhŏrāyim {מֵהַבֹּקֶר וְעַד־הַצָּהֳרַיִם | mēhabbōqer wə‘ăd haṣṣōhŏrāyim} ‘from the morning until noon’ frames the duration of the invocation. The repeated negative clauses wə’ēn qōl wə’ēn ’ōnēh {וְאֵין קוֹל וְאֵין עֹנֶה | wə’ēn qōl wə’ēn ’ōnēh} ‘and there was no voice, and there was no answering’ underscores divine silence. The Piel imperfect vayefasschu {וַֽיְפַסְּח֔וּ | vāyefas̱ḥû} ‘and they limped’ functions as an emphatic cultic gesture mocking the silence. The relative clause ’ăšer ‘āśāh {אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה | ’ăšer ‘āśāh} ‘that they had made’ anchors the action to the assembled altar. |