| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The wayyiqtol form vayyiqra {וַיִּקְרָא֙ | wayyiqrāʾ} ‘and he called’ advances the narrative by introducing a naming event. The genitival phrase shem hammaqom {שֵׁ֣ם הַמָּק֔וֹם | šēm ham-māqôm} ‘name of the place’ is specified by the definite article on hammaqom. The appositional pair massah umerivah {מַסָּה וּמְרִיבָה | massāh ūmerivāh} denotes testing and strife. The coordinate prepositional phrases al-riv benei yisrael {עַל־רִיב בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל | ʿal-rîḇ bənê yiśrāʾēl} and ve-al nesotam et-Yahweh {וְעַ֨ל נַסֹּתָ֤ם אֶת־יְהוָה | wə-ʿal nəsōṯām ʾeṯ-Yə-hō-wāh} provide parallel causal reasons for the toponym. The Piel infinitive nesotam {נַסֹּתָ֤ם | nəsōṯām}, with the direct-object marker ʾeṯ, emphasizes Israel’s challenge to the LORD. The infinitive leemor {לֵאמֹ֔ר | lēʾmōr} introduces direct speech. The existential interrogation hayesh Yahweh bekirbenu im-ayin {הֲיֵשׁ יְהוָה בְּקִרְבֵנוּ אִם־אָיִן | ḥăyēš Yə-hō-wāh bəkirbênū ʾim-ʾāyin} uses fronted hayesh and the particle im with ayin to frame a binary question that foregrounds the LORD’s presence. |