| 26. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the wayyiqtol verb vatizni {וַתִּזְנִ֧י | wat-tiz-nî} ‘and you committed fornication’, marking a past action of sexual unfaithfulness. The prepositional construct el-bnei-mitzrayim {אֶל־בְּנֵֽי־מִצְרַיִם | ʾel-bǝnê-miṣrāyim} ‘with the sons of Egypt’ is rendered “with” to reflect Hebraic usage. The construct shkhenayikh {שְׁכֵנַ֖יִךְ | šə-ḵē-na-yîḵ} ‘your neighbors’ intensifies relational betrayal, further specified by gidlei basar {גִּדְלֵ֣י בָשָׂר | giḏ-lē bā-sār} ‘great of flesh.’ The subsequent wayyiqtol vatarbi {וַתַּרְבִּי | wat-tar-bî} ‘and you multiplied’ continues the narrative, with et {אֶת־ | ʾet} ‘direct object marker’ identifying taznuteikh {תַּזְנֻתֵ֖ךְ | taz-nu-te-ḵ} ‘your harlotries.’ Finally, the Hiphil infinitive lehakhiseni {לְהַכְעִיסֵֽנִי | lǝ-haḵ-ʿî-sē-nî} ‘to provoke Me to anger’ introduces a purpose clause expressing divine response. The English rendering uses past tense for narrative coherence and preserves the causative nuance. |