| 23. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the wayyomer {וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | wayyōʾmer} ‘and he said’, a narrative marker introducing direct speech. The subject moshe {מֹשֶׁה֙ | mōšeh} follows the verb in verb–subject order. The prepositional phrase el-yehovah {אֶל־יְהוָ֔ה | ʾel-Yə-hō-wāh} ‘to the LORD’ identifies the addressee. The conjunction ki {כִּֽי־ | kî} introduces a causal clause where atta {אַתָּה֙ | ʾat-tā} ‘you’ addresses the divine. The particle lo {לֹא־ | lōʾ} precedes the imperfect verb yukhal {יוּכַל | yûḵal} to express inability, with haam {הָעָם | hā-ʿām} ‘the people’ as subject and the infinitive laalot {לַעֲלֹת | la-ʿă-lōṯ} as its complement, forming “the people are not able to ascend.” The goal phrase el-hahar sinai {אֶל־הַר סִינָי | ʾel-hā-har sî-nāy} ‘to Mount Sinai’ combines preposition, noun, and proper name. The Hifil perfect haedotah {הַעֵדֹ֤תָה | ha-ʿê-ḏō-tā} ‘you have warned’ conveys a completed authoritative warning banu {בָּנוּ | bā-nû} ‘among us.’ The infinitive lemor {לֵאמֹר | lēʾ-mōr} ‘saying’ signals the warning’s content. In the quotation, hagbel {הַגְבֵּ֥ל | ha-geb-bêl} ‘set a boundary’ is a Hifil imperative, followed by the object et-hahar {אֶת־הָהָר | ʾet-hā-hār} ‘the mountain,’ and concluded with ve-qiddashto {וְקִדַּשְׁתּֽוֹ | wə-qiddāš-tô} ‘and you shall sanctify it.’ This structure preserves Hebrew verb–subject order in English subject–verb order while maintaining the causal and solemn tone. |