| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive verb vatishlach {וַתִּשְׁלַ֤ח | vat-tiš-lāḥ} meaning “and she sent,” shifting the narrative focus to Jezebel. The messenger formula mal’akh ’el-elî-yā-hû lê-ʾā-môr {מַלְאָךְ אֶל־אֵלִיָּהוּ לֵאמֹר | māl-ʾā-ḥ ʾel-ʾelî-yā-hû lê-ʾā-môr} frames the forthcoming curse. The paired jussives in kō-ya-‘ă-šûn ’ĕ-lō-ḥîm vê-kō yō-sî-p̄ûn {כֹּה־יַעֲשׂוּן אֱלֹהִים וְכֹה יוֹסִפ֔וּן | kō-ya-ʿă-šûn ʾĕ-lō-ḥîm vê-kō yō-sî-p̄ûn} invoke deities as oath-witnesses and intensify the imprecation. The temporal clause kî-kā-‘êt mā-ḥār ’ā-šîm {כִּֽי־כָעֵ֤ת מָחָר אָשִׂים | kî-kā-ʿêt mā-ḥār ʾā-šîm} establishes the deadline. The direct object in ’et-nap̄-šê-khā {אֶֽת־נַפְשְׁךָ | ʾet-nap̄-šê-khā} personalizes the threat, and the simile kᵊ-ne-fēš ’a-ḥăḏ mē-hēm {כְּנֶפֶשׁ אַחַד מֵהֶם | kᵊ-ne-fēš ʾa-ḥăḏ mē-hēm} completes the menacing comparison. |