| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with the wayyiqtol form vayikach {וַיִּקַּ֞ח | wayyiqqaḥ} ‘and he took’, introducing Jethro as the active subject. The construct chain yitro choten moshe {יִתְר֨וֹ חֹתֵ֥ן מֹשֶׁ֛ה | yiṯrô ḥōtēn mōšeh} specifies Jethro’s relationship as father-in-law of Moses. The coordinated pair olah {עֹלָ֥ה | ʿōlāh} and zevachim {וּזְבָחִ֖ים | ûzəḇāḥîm} forms the offerings directed leelohim {לֵֽאלֹהִ֑ים | lēʾlōhîm} ‘to God’, marked by the preposition. A second wayyiqtol, vayavo {וַיָּבֹ֨א | wayyāḇōʾ} ‘and he came’, shifts the focus to aharon vechol ziknei yisrael {אַהֲרֹ֜ן וְכֹ֣ל זִקְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | ʾahărōn wəḵōl ziqnê yiśrāʾēl}, emphasizing communal leadership. The infinitive leekhol lechem {לֶאֱכָל־לֶ֛חֶם | leʾeḵol leḥem} functions as purpose ‘to eat bread’. The prepositional phrase imchoten moshe {עִם־חֹתֵ֥ן מֹשֶׁ֖ה | ʿim ḥōtēn mōšeh} ‘with father-in-law of Moses’ situates the shared meal, and lifnei haelohim {לִפְנֵ֥י הָאֱלֹהִֽים | lip̄nê hāʾĕlōhîm} ‘before the God’ frames the event within divine presence. The wayyiqtol sequence is rendered with past narrative verbs, construct chains are preserved in relational phrases, and lifnei is translated as “before God” (formal) and “in the presence of God” (dynamic) to maintain theological emphasis. |