| 27. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive imperfect vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | way-yō-mer} ‘and he said’, marking direct divine speech. The particle gam {גַּם | gam} ‘also’ establishes a parallel to Israel’s earlier judgment. The prepositional phrase mê-ʿal pā-nay {מֵעַל פָּנַי | mê-ʿal pā-nay} ‘from upon my presence’ employs spatial imagery for divine favor. The Hif‘il perfect hasiroti {הֲסִרֹתִי | ha-sî-rô-tî} ‘I removed’ contrasts with the Qal perfect ū-ma’asti {וּמָאַסְתִּי | ū-mā-ʼás-tî} ‘I rejected’, emphasizing retrospective and present divine actions. The relative clause ʾă-šer bä-ḥar-tî {אֲשֶׁר-בָּחַרְתִּי | ʾă-šer bä-ḥar-tî} ‘which I chose’ links choice to the noun yə-rū-sha-lā-yim {יְרוּשָׁלִַם | yə-rū-sha-lā-yim}, and the following relative asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾă-šer} ‘which’ connects to ’ā-mar-tî {אָמַרְתִּי | ’ā-mar-tî} ‘I have said’, framing the promise that yiḥ-yē-hĕ {יִהְיֶה | yiḥ-yē-h} ‘shall be’ the location of še-mî {שְׁמִי | še-mî} ‘my name’. This chain of perfect and imperfect verbs with relative clauses underscores covenant election, promise, and judgment. |