| 38. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive imperfect vayomer {וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | wā-yō-mer} ‘and he said’, marking direct speech in historical narrative. The imperative goshu {גֹּשֽׁוּ | gō-šū} ‘draw near’ summons kol pinot ha’am {כֹּל פִּנּוֹת הָעָם | kōl pin-nōṯ hā-’ām}, an idiomatic construct signifying “all the leading representatives of the people.” The paired imperatives ude’u ure’u {וּדְע֣וּ וּרְא֔וּ | wə-ḏə-‘ū wə-rə-’ū} ‘know and see’ intensify the investigative command, coupling cognitive with perceptual verification. The prepositional interrogative bamah {בַּמָּה | ba-mā} ‘by what means’ introduces the causal inquiry. The perfect hayetah {הָֽיְתָ֛ה | hā-yə-ṭā(h)} ‘has occurred’ denotes completed action, and the noun phrase hachatat hazot hayom {הַחַטָּ֥את הַזֹּ֖את הַיּֽוֹם | ha-ḥaṭ-ṭāṯ ha-zōṯ ha-yōm} ‘this sin today’ specifies the transgression and its timing. The English versions maintain the Hebrew sequence of imperatives and interrogative structure for fidelity and clarity. |