| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the narrative wayyiqtol verb vayehi {וַיְהִי֙ | way-hî} ‘and it happened’, immediately marking a new scene. The fronted temporal expression mimmachorat {מִֽמָּחֳרָ֔ת | mim-mā-ḥo-rāṯ} ‘on the next day’ situates the action after the prior events. A sequence of wayyiqtol verbs, vayeshev {וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב | way-yê-šeḇ} ‘and he sat’ and later vayaamod {וַיַּעֲמֹ֤ד | way-ya-ʿă-mōḏ} ‘and he stood’, frame Moses’s judicial activity and the people’s response. The infinitive lishpot {לִשְׁפֹּט | liš-pōṭ} ‘to judge’ expresses purpose, with the particle et {אֶת־ | ʾeṯ} marking the direct object haam {הָעָ֑ם | hā-ʿām}. The prepositional phrase al Mosheh {עַל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה | ʿal mō-šeh} indicates orientation toward Moses, while the paired prepositions min {מִן־ | min} and ad {עַד־ | ʿaḏ} with haboker {הַבֹּ֖קֶר | hab-bō-qer} and haarev {הָעָֽרֶב | hā-ʿā-reḇ} bracket the timeframe, underscoring Moses’s intensive workload and the people’s enduring presence throughout the day. |