| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs a first-person sequence with vav-consecutive: va’essa {וָאֶשָּׂ֤א | wā-’eś-śā} ‘and I lifted’ and va’er’eh {וָאֶרְאֶ֔ה | wā-’er-’eh} ‘and I saw,’ leading into the interjection ve-hinneh {וְהִנֵּ֣ה | wə-hin-nêh} ‘and behold,’ which signals a dramatic vision. Ayil {אַ֣יִל | ’a-yil} ‘ram’ paired with echad {אֶחָ֗ד | ’e-ḥāḏ} ‘one’ emphasizes singularity. The participle omed {עֹמֵ֛ד | ‘ō-mêḏ} marks the ram’s posture, while lifnei ha-ubal {לִפְנֵ֥י הָאֻבָ֖ל | lif-nê hā-’u-ḇāl} indicates spatial orientation ‘before the canal.’ The phrase ve-lo kerenayim {וְל֣וֹ קְרָנָ֑יִם | wə-lō qə-rā-nā-yim} ‘and it had horns’ introduces dual horn imagery which is then compared: gevohot {גְּבֹה֗וֹת | gə-ḇō-hōṯ} ‘were high’ contrasts with gevoha min-ha-shenit {גְּבֹהָ֣ה מִן־הַשֵּׁנִ֔ית | gə-ḇō-hāh min-ha-šê-nīt} ‘was higher than the second,’ culminating in the higher horn’s ascent olah ba-acharonah {עֹלָ֖ה בָּאַחֲרֹנָֽה | ‘ō-lāh bā-’a-ḥa-rō-nāh} ‘coming up at the end.’ Parallelism and vav-consecutive linkage underscore the sequence and hierarchy of the horns, shaping the prophetic vision’s structure. |