| 11. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with the vav-consecutive Qal imperfect vayyiqrāʾ {וַיִּקְרָ֛א | wayyiqrāʾ} ‘and he called’, introducing the action. The noun phrase yəša‘yāhû hannābîʾ {יְשַׁעְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא | yəša‘yāhū hannābîʾ} ‘Isaiah the prophet’ serves as subject, followed by the prepositional goal ʾel Yahweh {אֶל־יְהוָה | ʾel Yə-hō-wāh}. The direct object ʾet-hā-ṣēl {אֶת־הַצֵּל | ʾet-hā-ṣēl} ‘the shadow’ appears in the locative ba-ma‘ălôṯ {בַּמַּעֲלוֹת | ba-maʿălôṯ} ‘on the steps’, modified by the relative clause ʾašer yāreḏāh {אֲשֶׁר יָרְדָה | ʾašer yāreḏāh} ‘which it had descended’. The second clause’s Hiphil imperfect vav-consecutive wayyāšeb {וַיָּשֶׁב | wayyāšeb} ‘and he caused to return’ is followed by the adverb ʾăḥôrrannîṯ {אֲחֹרַנִּית | ʾăḥôrrannîṯ} ‘backward’ and the quantitative phrase ʿeśer ma‘ălôṯ {עֶשֶׂר מַעֲלֻת | ʿeśer maʿălôṯ} ‘ten steps’, illustrating how the tightly woven sequence of relative clauses and vav-consecutive forms emphasizes the reversal of the shadow’s prior descent. |