| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the wayyiqtol vatte-mer {וַתֹּאמֶר | wat-tō-ʾmer} introducing Sarai’s speech. The clause khamasi alekha {חֲמָסִי עָלֶיךָ | ḥă-mā-sî ʿā-lê-kā} positions the possessed noun before the prepositional phrase to stress her grievance against Abram. The independent pronoun anokhi {אָנֹכִי | ʾā-nō-kî} before natatti {נָתַתִּי | nā-tat-tî} highlights her initiative in giving her servant, as seen in the construct shifkhati bekheikha {שִׁפְחָתִי בְּחֵיקֶךָ | šip-ḥā-tî bə-ḥê-qe-kā}, an idiom for intimate union. The sequence vatte-re ki haratah {וַתֵּרֶא כִּי הָרָתָה | wat-tê-reʾ kî hā-rā-tāh} sets the servant’s conception as cause for the result clause va-e-kal be-eineha {וָאֵקַל בְּעֵינֶיהָ | wā-ʾê-qal bə-ʿê-nê-hā}, marking Sarai as the object of contempt. The jussive yishpot Yahweh {יִשְׁפֹּט יְהוָה | yiš-pōṭ Yə-hō-wāh} invokes divine adjudication, with the paired prepositions beini u-veinekha {בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶֽיךָ | bênî û-bê-ne-kā} framing the dispute for God’s judgment. |