| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive verb venatati {וְנָתַתִּי | wə-nā-ṭa-tî} ‘and I will set,’ marking direct divine action. The phrase et-pnai bahem {אֶת־פָּנַי בָּהֶם | ʾet-pā-nây bā-hem} ‘my face against them’ functions as an idiom of determined opposition. The temporal clause mehaesh yatsa’u {מֵהָאֵשׁ יָצָאוּ | mə-hā-ʾēš yā-ṣā-ʾû} ‘from the fire they have gone out’ uses a Qal perfect to indicate completed escape, while the imperfect toakhelem {תֹּאכְלֵם | tō-ʾă-ḵ-lêm} ‘will devour them’ emphasizes the certainty of judgment. The clause viyadatem ki-ani Yahweh {וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי־אֲנִי יְהוָה | wî-daʿ-tem kî-ʾă-nî Yə-hō-wāh} ‘and you shall know that I am the LORD’ serves as a climactic self-revelation, and the parallel infinitive clause besumi et-pnai bahem {בְּשׂוּמִי אֶת־פָּנַי בָּהֶם | bə-śû-mî ʾet-pā-nây bā-hem} ‘when I set my face against them’ reinforces divine determination. |