| 30. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with vayomer {וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’, introducing direct speech. Elijah’s address uses the dative phrase lekol-haam {לְכָל־הָעָם | lə-kāl-hā-ʿām} ‘to all the people’ and the imperative geshu {גְּשׁוּ | gəšû} ‘come near’ paired with the directional complement elai {אֵלַי | ʾē-lāy} ‘to me’, inviting collective participation. The vav-consecutive imperfect vayyigshu {וַיִּגְּשׁוּ | wayyigšū} ‘and they came near’ repeats the inclusive kol-haam {כָל־הָעָם | kol-hā-ʿām} ‘all the people’ with elav {אֵלָיו | ʾē-lāw} ‘to him’, highlighting universal obedience. The subsequent Piel vav-consecutive imperfect vayyerappēʾ {וַיְרַפֵּא | wayyərappēʾ} ‘and he restored’ takes the construct et-mizbēaḥ Yahweh {אֶת־מִזְבֵּחַ יְהוָה | ʾet-mizbēaḥ Yə-hō-wāh} ‘the altar of the LORD’ as its object, where et marks specificity and the construct chain signals possession. The participle héhārûs {הֶהָרוּס | héhārûs} ‘torn down’, in the Hophal stem with the definite article, functions as a descriptive relative clause. English syntax mirrors the Hebrew sequence to reflect the progression of command, response, and sacred restoration. |