| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the interrogative-negation particle halo {הֲלֹא | hă-lōʾ} combined with the demonstrative zeh {זֶה | zeh}, forming an emphatic rhetorical question. The noun hadavar {הַדָּבָר | ha-dāvar} is modified by the relative clause asher dibbārnû ʾēleḵā be-miṭsrāyim lēʾemor {אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְנוּ אֵלֶיךָ בְּמִצְרַיִם לֵאמֹר}, “that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying.” Inside the quotation, the Qal imperative ḥădāl minnēnû {חֲדַל מִמֶּנּוּ} “cease from us” and the vav-cohortative vē-nāʿăvdāh ʾet-miṭsrāyim {וְנַעַבְדָה אֶת־מִצְרָיִם} “and let us serve the Egyptians” express urgent complaint. The conjunction kî {כִּי | kî} introduces the comparative clause kî ṭōv lānû ʿăvōd ʾet-miṭsrāyim mimmūtēnû ba-midbār {כִּי טוֹב לָנוּ עֲבֹד אֶת־מִצְרָיִם מִמֻּתֵּנוּ בַּמִּדְבָּר}, “for it would be good for us to serve the Egyptians rather than to die in the wilderness,” highlighting the contrast between bondage and death. |