| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with wayyehi {וַיְהִי | way-yĕ-hî} ‘and it was,’ a vav-consecutive verb that signals sequence. The temporal infinitive kishmoa {כִּשְׁמֹעַ | kîš-mō-ă} ‘as he heard’ introduces Elijah’s reaction. A chain of vav-consecutive verbs vayyalet, vayetze, and vayaamod describe his intentional actions. The locative expression beaddarto panav ‘in his cloak his face’ combines gesture and instrument. The phrase petach hamearah {פֶּתַח הַמְּעָרָה | pᵉ-ṭaḥ ha-mə-ʿā-rāh} establishes the setting “entrance of the cave.” Vehinneh {וְהִנֵּה | wə-hin-nēh} ‘and behold’ introduces the revelatory moment, leading to elav kol {אֵלָיו קוֹל | ʾē-lāyw qōl} ‘to him a voice.’ The direct question mahlekha po {מַה־לְּךָ פֹּה | mah-lə-ḵā́ pōh} ‘what are you doing here?’ frames Elijah’s encounter. Formal preserves the Hebrew sequence; dynamic smooths word order to convey immediacy. |