| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs a pair of wayyiqtol verbs—vatikach {וַתִּקַּ֞ח | wat-ti-qaḥ} “and she took” and vatiten {וַתִּתֵּ֥ן | wat-tit-tēn} “and she gave”—to frame Sarai’s actions. The initial wayyiqtol marks Sarai as the narrative subject, followed by the appositional construct eshet-Avram {אֵֽשֶׁת־אַבְרָ֗ם | ʾê-šeṯ-ʾav-rām} specifying her identity. The complex direct object is introduced by et-Hagar {אֶת־הָגָ֤ר | ʾeṯ-hā-gār}, emphasizing Hagar through the definite particle, then qualified by ha-Mitsrit {הַמִּצְרִית֙ | ham-miṣ-rît} “the Egyptian woman” and shiphchatah {שִׁפְחָתָ֔הּ | šip-ḥā-ṯāh} “her maidservant,” stacking ethnic and social markers. The temporal frame miqets eser shanim le-shevet Avram be-erets Kena'an {מִקֵּץ עֶ֣שֶׂר שָׁנִ֔ים לְשֶׁ֥בֶת אַבְרָ֖ם בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן} functions as a circumstantial clause “after ten years of Abram’s dwelling in Canaan,” with miqets establishing the end point and the infinitive construct governing residence. The second wayyiqtol resumes Sarai’s agency, with the pronominal otah {אֹתָ֛הּ | ʾō-ṯāh} and prepositional phrases le-Avram, ishah, lo, and le-ishah mapping out recipient, relational status, beneficiary, and purpose. In translation, the wayyiqtol verbs are rendered as simple past to preserve narrative thrust, the temporal clause is smoothed into “after…had passed” or “when…had been,” and the prepositional cluster is expressed as “handed…as a wife” to capture both legal and relational nuance. |