| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive verb vayomer {וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said,’ introducing direct speech from Yahweh {יְהוָ֜ה | Yəhôwāh} to Shemuel {שְׁמוּאֵל | šəmûʾēl}. The negative imperative al-tabbet {אַל־תַּבֵּ֧ט | ʾal-tabbēṭ} ‘do not look’ governs two coordinated prepositional objects: el-marehu {אֶל־מַרְאֵ֛הוּ | ʾel-marʾēhû} ‘at his appearance’ and ve-el-gevoah {וְאֶל־גְּבֹהַּ | wə-ʾel-gəbhôh} ‘and at the height.’ Each ki {כִּי | kî} clause introduces first the divine rejection (meastihu {מְאַסְתִּ֑יהוּ | ‘I have rejected him’), then the human contrast haadam yirʾēh laenayim {הָאָדָם יִרְאֶה לַעֵינַיִם} ‘the human sees to the eyes.’ The adversative vayehovah yirʾēh lalevav {וַיהוָה יִרְאֶה לַלֵּבָב | wayyəhôwāh yirʾēh la-lēḇāḇ} ‘but the LORD sees to the heart’ delivers the climactic antithesis. This chiastic parallelism between outward form and inner reality underscores divine insight beyond mortal perception. |