| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive verb vatikchi {וַתִּקְחִי | wat-tiq-ḥî} ‘and you took,’ signaling a sequential perfective action by the feminine singular subject. The accusative marker et {אֶת־ | ʾet} precedes the construct phrase bigdei riqmāteikh {בִּגְדֵי רִקְמָתֵךְ | big-dê riq-mā-ṯêkh} ‘garments of your embroidery,’ linking a masculine plural head noun to a feminine singular possessive suffix. Next, the Piel wayyiqtol vatte-kassim {וַתְּכַסִּים | wat-te-kas-sîm} ‘and you covered them’ intensifies the action and carries a third person masculine plural suffix referring to the idols. The coordinated phrase veshamni uqtarti {וְשַׁמְנִי וּקְטָרְתִּי | wə-šam-nî û-qə-ṭar-tî} ‘and my oil and my incense’ features two first person singular pronominal suffixes underscoring divine ownership of the offerings. The Qal perfect natat {נָתַתְּ | nā-ṯat} ‘you gave’ is complemented by the prepositional phrase lifnehem {לִפְנֵיהֶם | li-p̄nê-hem} ‘before them,’ situating the offerings in the presence of the idols. This sequence of wayyiqtol forms creates a narrative progression that heightens the sense of misdirected devotion and the tragic profanation of sacred gifts. |