| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with the vav-consecutive verb vayhi {וַיְהִי | vā̆-yĕhî} ‘and it happened’, marking a decisive narrative shift. The temporal clause b’ashmoret haboqer {בְּאַשְׁמֹ֣רֶת הַבֹּ֔קֶר | bĕ-ʾaš-mō-rĕṯ hā-bō-qēr} ‘during the morning watch’ situates the action within the ancient three-part division of the night. The Hiphil verb vayashkef {וַיַּשְׁקֵ֤ף | vā̆-yaš-kêp} ‘and he looked down’ expresses intentional divine observation, followed by the directional prepositional phrase el-machaneh Mitsrayim {אֶל־מַחֲנֵ֣ה מִצְרַ֔יִם | ʾel-maḥă-nêh Miṣrāyim} ‘toward the camp of Egypt’. The compound locative be-amud esh ve-anan {בְּעַמּ֥וּד אֵשׁ וְעָנָ֑ן | bĕ-ʿam-mûḏ ʾēš wə-ʿānān} ‘in a pillar of fire and cloud’ uses asyndeton to present the two concurrent expressions of divine presence. The subsequent Hiphil verb vayaham {וַיָּהָם | vā̆-yāhăm} ‘and he confused’ combined with the direct object marker et emphasizes the causative outcome among the Egyptian forces. English word order maintains Hebrew thematic emphasis and links the result clause explicitly to divine action. |