| 35. Linguistic Exegesis The action begins with vayyiqrot {וַיִּכְרֹת | va-yik-rōṯ} ‘and he made,’ where the vav consecutive marks a shift to narrative sequence. Yəhōwāh {יְהוָה | Yəhōwāh} serves as the covenanting agent, followed by ʾit-tām {אִתָּם | ʾit-tām} ‘with them’ and berit {בְּרִית | bə-rîṯ} ‘covenant’ as the direct object. The Piel imperfect vayyeṣavvem {וַיְצַוֵּם | va-ye-ṣa-wēm} ‘and he commanded them’ introduces the series of prohibitions with intensified force. The infinitive lē-ʾā-môr {לֵאמֹר | lē-ʾā-môr} functions as a quotative marker. The successive prohibitions—tira’u {תִּירְאוּ | ti-rə-ʾû} ‘fear,’ velo-tishtachavu {וְלֹא־תִשְׁתַּחֲו֣וּ | wə-lō-ti-šə-ḥă-wû} ‘and shall not bow down,’ taʿavdum {תַעַבְדוּם | ta-ʿăb-dûm} ‘serve,’ tizbechu {תִזְבְּחוּ | ti-zə-bə-ḥû} ‘sacrifice’—are each negated by loʾ {לֹא | lōʾ}, creating a parallelism that underscores exclusive loyalty. This coordination from internal reverence to external worship highlights the comprehensive scope of Israel’s allegiance. |