| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative advances through vav-consecutive verbs: vayyiqrāʼ {וַיִּקְרָ֗א | way-yiq-rāʼ} ‘and he called’ introduces the subordinate, followed by wayyōmer {וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | way-yō-mer} ‘and he said’ to deliver the command. The direct object marker ʾet {אֶֽת־ | ʾet} signals the objects but is omitted in English for readability. The construct chain nāʿārô mēšārtô {נַעֲרוֹ מְשָׁרְתוֹ} ‘his young man, his servant’ emphasizes the attendant’s dual status. The polite imperative šilḥûnāʼ {שִׁלְחוּ־נָ֥א | šil-ḥū-nāʼ} conveys urgency with courtesy. The sequence of imperatives—send away outside and bolt—uses wəneʿōl {וּנְעֹ֥ל | wə-ne-ʿōl} to underscore exclusion. The demonstrative zōt {זֹ֛את | zōt} marks the woman as detested, and the prepositional phrase mēʿālāy haḥûṣāh {מֵעָלַי הַחוּצָה | mē-ʿā-lāy ha-ḥū-ṣāh} intensifies her removal. The final aḥarehā {אַחֲרֶיהָ | a-ḥa-re-hā} ‘after her’ highlights the door’s secure closure, reinforcing the expulsion and associated shame. |