Genesis 16:13ExegesisTAB

Genesis 16 : 13 Naming | Perception | Revelation
13. Linguistic Exegesis
The verse begins with the wayyiqtol form vatikra {וַתִּקְרָא | wat-ti-qrāʾ} ‘and she called’, marking a narrative continuation. The construct phrase shem Yahweh {שֵׁם־יְהוָה | šēm Yə-hō-wāh} ‘name of the LORD’ introduces a theophoric title. The participle hadober {הַדֹּבֵר | had-dō-vēr} ‘the one speaking’ stands in apposition, identifying Yahweh as the speaker, and the prepositional phrase eleha {אֵלֶיהָ | ʾê-lê-hā} ‘to her’ affirms a direct address. In the clause atta el roʾî {אַתָּה אֵל רֳאִי | ʾat-tāh ʾēl rō-ʾî} ‘you are God who sees me’, a verbless nominal sentence underscores mutual identification of pronoun and predicate. The conjunction ki ʾamrāh {כִּי אָמְרָה | kî ʾā-mə-rāh} ‘for she said’ introduces the explanatory quotation. The interrogative pair ha-gam ha-lōm {הֲגַם הֲלֹם | ha-gam ha-lōm} ‘even here?’ heightens astonishment, and the perfect rāʾîti {רָאִיתִי | rā-ʾî-tî} followed by ʾaḥarê {אַחֲרֵי | ʾa-ḥă-rê} and the participle rō-ʾî {רֹאִי | rō-ʾî} ‘I have seen after my seer’ forms a rhetorical question expressing wonder at encountering the divine seer in this place. The English rendering balances literal structure with clarity, preserving the sequence of narrative and speech.

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