| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the wayyiqtol form vayesaper {וַיְסַפֵּר | way-sap-pēr} ‘and he recounted’, which sets the stage for Moses’ detailed report. The subject Mosheh {מֹשֶׁה | mō-šeh} precedes the indirect object lechotno {לְחֹתְנוֹ | lə-ḥōṯ-nô} ‘to his father-in-law’, highlighting Jethro as the hearer. The marker et {אֵת | ʾēt} introduces the first object clause kol-asher asah Yahweh {כָּל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְהוָה | kāl-ʾă-šer ʿā-śāh Yə-hō-wāh} ‘all that the LORD did’, with the relative asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾă-šer} tying back to kol {כָּל | kāl} for cohesion. The prepositional phrasing leparoh ulemitsrayim {לְפַרְעֹה וּלְמִצְרַיִם | lə-par-ʿōh û-lə-miṣ-rā-yim} ‘to Pharaoh and to Egypt’ pairs the monarch and his nation as unified actors. The topical phrase al odot Yisrael {עַל אוֹדֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל | ʿal ʾō-ḏōṯ yiś-rā-ʾēl} ‘concerning reports of Israel’ shifts focus to Israel’s experiences. A second et {אֵת | ʾēt} introduces kol-ha-tela’ah asher metsa’atam {כָּל־הַתְּלָאָה אֲשֶׁר מְצָאָתַם | kāl-hat-tə-lā-ʾāh ʾă-šer mə-ṣā-ʾā-ṯām} ‘all the hardship that met them’, where the feminine noun tela’ah {הַתְּלָאָה | hat-tə-lā-ʾāh} takes the singular verb metsa’atam to personify affliction. The locative baderekh {בַּדֶּרֶךְ | bad-de-reḵ} ‘in the way’ situates the troubles within the wilderness journey. The verse concludes with the wayyiqtol vayatsilem Yahweh {וַיַּצִּלֵם יְהוָה | way-yaṣ-ṣî-lēm Yə-hō-wāh} ‘and the LORD delivered them’, with the delayed divine name creating climactic emphasis on rescue. |