| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayhi {וַיְהִי | way·hî} ‘and it happened’, a narrative marker that introduces a significant scene. The temporal setting is expressed through the clause hashemesh ba'ah {הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בָּאָה | haš·šemeš bā·ʾāh} ‘the sun had gone down’, followed by the parallel nominal clause va'alatah hayah {וַעֲלָטָה הָיָה | wa·ʿă·lāṭāh hā·yāh} ‘and darkness was’, creating a balanced description of the transition into night and heightening the sense of solemnity. The interjection vehineh {וְהִנֵּה | wə·hin·nēh} ‘and behold’ signals a sudden, striking vision and shifts the focus from setting to event. The coordinated noun phrases tanur ashan {תַנּוּר עָשָׁן | tan·nûr ʿā·šān} ‘furnace of smoke’ and velapid esh {וְלַפִּיד אֵשׁ | wə·lap·pîḏ ʾēš} ‘torch of fire’ form a compound subject for the verb avar {עָבַר | ʿā·ḇar} ‘passed’. The construct relationships (ashan ‘smoke’, esh ‘fire’) depict the theophanic imagery as composed of smoke and flame, evoking awe and mystery. The prepositional phrase bein hagezarim ha'eleh {בֵּין הַגְּזָרִים הָאֵלֶּה | bēn hag·gə·zā·rîm hā·ʾēl·leh} ‘between these pieces’ is placed at the end, giving climactic emphasis to the ritual space formed by the cut pieces from the prior context. In translation, the temporal clauses are rendered as “when the sun had gone down and darkness was” (formal) and “As the sun set and darkness settled” (dynamic), preserving the sequence while smoothing English style. The interjection vehineh is reflected as “behold” in the formal rendering and as “suddenly” in the dynamic version, both capturing its function of drawing attention to the extraordinary sight. |