| 1. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew narrative marker vayehi {וַיְהִי | way-yə-hî} signals the introduction of prophetic speech, followed by the construct devar {דְבַר־ | də-var} “word” with Yəhōwāh {יְהוָה | Yə-hō-wāh}, denoting divine ownership. The prepositional phrase elay {אֵלַי | ʾê-lay} “to me” identifies Ezekiel as the recipient, and the infinitive construct leʾemor {לֵאמֹר | lē-ʾe-mōr} “to say” marks the start of direct discourse. In English, the sequence is rendered as subject-verb-object for readability while preserving the sense of immediate divine communication. |