| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the narrative marker vayhi {וַיְהִי | wayhî} ‘and it was,’ a vav-consecutive Qal imperfect that introduces a new narrative segment. The time phrase miqqetz arbaʿim shanah {מִקֵּץ אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה | miqqeṣ arbaʿim shanâ} ‘at the end of forty years’ uses a prepositional prefix on qetz ‘end’ plus a numeral and noun; although the MT reads “forty years,” a variant tradition reads “four years,” and the translations follow that reading. The vav-consecutive verb vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’ leads into direct speech. The cohortatives ʼelkha nā {אֵלְכָה נָּא | ’elkhâ nā} ‘let me go, please’ and vaʼăšallem {וַאֲשַׁלֵּם | vaʾăšallem} ‘and let me pay’ convey polite entreaty. The direct object marker ʼet {אֶת | ’et} marks nidri {נִדְרִי | nidrî} ‘my vow’ as the object, with the relative clause ʼašer nādaṯî {אֲשֶׁר נָדַרְתִּי | ’ăšer nādaṯî} ‘which I vowed.’ The prepositional phrases la-Yahweh {לַיהוָה | laYHWH} and bechebron {בְּחֶבְרוֹן | bəḥeḇrôn} indicate the vow’s recipient and location. English rendering preserves Hebrew word order in the sequence of request and vow fulfillment while adapting temporal phrasing for clarity. |