| 19. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with velamah {וְלָמָּה | wə-lā-mā} ‘and why’, introducing a rhetorical rebuke. The negative particle lo combined with the perfect verb shamata {שָׁמַעְתָּ | šā-mā‘-tā} ‘you did not listen’ intensifies the charge of disobedience. The prepositional phrase bekol {בְּקוֹל | bə-ˈkōl} Yahweh {יְהוָה | yə-hō-ˈwä} ‘to the voice of the LORD’ underscores divine authority. The vav-consecutive imperfect vatat {וַתַּעַט | va-tta‘-aṭ} ‘you swooped’ conveys aggressive eagerness toward the noun hashalal {הַשָּׁלָל | ha-šā-lāl} ‘the plunder’. The consecutive imperfect vataas {וַתַּעַשׂ | va-tta‘-ś} ‘you did’ with the noun hara {הָרַע | hā-rā‘} ‘the evil’ highlights the wrongdoing. Finally, be-einei {בְּעֵינֵי | bə-ˈʿā-nê} Yahweh {יְהוָה | yə-hō-ˈwä} ‘in the eyes of the LORD’ frames the action in divine perspective. The Hebrew’s vav conjunctions and rhetorical questions yield an accusatory tone that the English maintains with parallel questions and structured clauses. |