| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse advances through the narrative vav-consecutive forms, beginning with vayyira {וַיִּרָ֕א | va·y·yī·rāʾ} ‘and he feared’ followed by vayitten {וַיִּתֵּ֧ן | va·y·yi·t·tēn} ‘and he set’. The construct panav + lidrosh {פָּנָ֖יו לִדְר֣וֹשׁ | pānāw + li·drōš} uses the noun ‘face’ in construct to signal resolute focus toward the infinitive ‘to seek’. That object relationship is marked by la-Yahweh {לַיהוָ֑ה | la·Yəhōwāh} ‘to the LORD’. The compound vayikra + tzom {וַיִּקְרָא־צ֖וֹם | va·y·yiqrāʾ + ṣōm} ‘and he proclaimed a fast’ links the verb ‘proclaim’ with the noun ‘fast’. Finally, the prepositional sequence al + kol + Yehudah {עַל־כָּל־יְהוּדָֽה | ʿal + kol + Yehūdah} ‘throughout all Judah’ emphasizes its communal scope. |