| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse continues the narrative with vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | way-yōʾmer} ‘and he said’, introducing divine speech. The speaker, malakh Yahweh {מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה | mal-ʾākh Yahweh} (‘messenger of the LORD’), functions as Yahweh’s representative. The intensification harbah arbeh {הַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה | har-bāh ʾar-beh}, combining an infinitive absolute with a cognate imperfect, conveys assured, large-scale multiplication. The direct object marker et {אֶת | ʾeṯ} highlights the focus on zar'ekh {זַרְעֵךְ | zar-ʿēḵ} (‘your seed’). The result clause velo yissaper merov {וְלֹא יִסָּפֵר מֵרֹב | wə-lōʾ yis-sā-pēr mē-rōḇ} (‘and not will be counted from abundance’) expresses that the offspring’s abundance renders counting impossible. In English, this relationship is rendered with “so that” and “because,” preserving the original emphasis and intensification in each reconstruction. |