| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive phrase vayhi {וַיְהִי | wa-yə-hî} ‘and it was’ signaling a new narrative unit. The construct phrase dvar-Yahweh {דְבַר־יְהוָה | də-var-Yahweh} ‘word of the LORD’ links the divine sender to the message. The prepositional phrase elai {אֵלַי | ʾē-lay} ‘to me’ marks Ezekiel as the recipient with a pronominal suffix. The infinitive leimor {לֵאמֹר | lē-mōr} ‘saying’ introduces direct speech, a common formula in prophetic literature that sets up the ensuing oracle. |