| 39. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with wayyar {וַיַּרְא | way·yar} ‘and he saw,’ where the vav-consecutive + Qal imperfect continues the storyline. The phrase kol haʿam {כָּל־הָעָם | kâl hā·ʿam} ‘all the people’ serves as a collective subject. The clause wayippəlu ʿal pənêhem {וַיִּפְּלוּ עַל־פְּנֵיהֶם | wayippə·lû ʿal pə·nê·hem} ‘and they fell upon their faces’ depicts reverent prostration through a prepositional phrase of direction. Wayyōʾəmeru {וַיֹּאמְרוּ | way·yōʾ·ə·ru} ‘and they said’ introduces direct speech. Within the quotation, the paratactic parallelism of Yahweh hûʾ haʾĕlōhîm {יְהוָה הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים | Yə·hō·wāh hûʾ hā·ʾĕ·lō·hîm} intensifies the affirmation of divine identity by repetition. The English maintains these clause boundaries and rhetorical repetition to reflect the Hebrew emphasis. |