| 45. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayehi {וַיְהִי | wə-yəhî} “and it happened,” a wayyiqtol narrative device that introduces a new prophetic section. The construct devar Yahweh {דְבַר־יְהוָה | də-ḇar Yə-hō-wāh} “word of the LORD” establishes the divine origin of the report. The prepositional phrase elay {אֵלַי | ʾē-lay} “to me” personalizes the prophecy to Ezekiel. The infinitive lemor {לֵאמֹר | lē-ʾō-mar} “saying” signals the start of the oracle’s direct speech. |