| 33. Linguistic Exegesis The verse is a tight sequence of narrative actions marked by three wayyiqtol verbs, creating rapid step-by-step progression: wayya'arokh {וַֽיַּעֲרֹ֖ךְ | wayyaʿărōḵ} ‘and he arranged’, wayyenattah {וַיְנַתַּח֙ | wayyənattaḥ} ‘and he cut into pieces’, and wayyasem {וַיָּ֖שֶׂם | wayyāśem} ‘and he placed’. The two objects are each introduced with ʾet {אֶת | ʾet} to mark the definite patient of the action, while hāʿēṣîm {הָעֵצִים | hāʿēṣîm} ‘the wood’ occurs both before and after the animal, framing the whole procedure around the prepared fuel-bed of the altar. The Piel stem in wayyenattah {וַיְנַתַּח֙ | wayyənattaḥ} foregrounds thorough division appropriate to sacrificial handling, and the final prepositional phrase ʿal-hāʿēṣîm {עַל־הָעֵצִים | ʿal-hāʿēṣîm} ‘on the wood’ completes the spatial goal of the action, presenting the offering as fully arranged for what follows. |