| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The verse uses three sequential imperfect verbs introduced by the conjunction waw {וָ | wā}, each followed by its object, forming a crescendo of divine action toward the feminine singular addressee personifying Jerusalem. The first verb va'erḥatzekh {וָאֶרְחָצֵךְ | wā-ʾer-ḥā-tzēḵ} ‘I washed you’ pairs with bamayim {בַּמַּיִם | ba-mā-yim} ‘with water’, establishing cleansing. The second verb va'eshtof {וָאֶשְׁטֹף | wā-ʾeš-ṭōp̄} ‘I rinsed’ takes the object damayikh {דָּמַיִךְ | dā-ma-yiḵ} ‘your blood’ with mealayikh {מֵעָלָיִךְ | mē-ʿā-lā-yiḵ} ‘from upon you’, intensifying purification. The final verb va'asukhekh {וָאֲסֻכֵךְ | wā-ʾă-su-ḵēḵ} ‘I anointed you’ with bashemen {בַּשָּׁמֶן | ba-šā-men} ‘with oil’ conveys consecration and healing. Hebrew word order foregrounds divine agency with each clause, while the progression from water to blood to oil underscores a movement from cleansing to restoration and sanctification. The English rendering preserves the chronological sequence and clarifies relational expressions through idiomatic prepositional phrases and parallel structure. |