| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the narrative verb vayomer {וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | way-yō-mer} ‘and he said’, a vav-consecutive Qal wayyiqtol that advances the storyline and introduces direct speech. The indirect object lah {לָהּ֙ | lāh} ‘to her’ precedes the subject, foregrounding Hagar as the recipient. The subject phrase malakh Yahweh {מַלְאַ֣ךְ יְהוָ֔ה | mal-ʾāḵ Yə-hō-wāh} ‘angel of the LORD’ functions as a divine messenger, underscoring the authority behind the commands. Within the quotation, the imperative shubi {שׁ֖וּבִי | šû-bî} ‘return’ directs a second person feminine singular subject to relocate. The following ve-hitanni {וְהִתְעַנִּ֖י | wə-hit-ʿan-nî}, a Hitpael imperative, conveys reflexive self-humbling. These imperatives form a coordinated verbal clause combining movement and submission. The prepositional phrase el-gevirtekh {אֶל־גְּבִרְתֵּ֑ךְ | ʾel-gə-ḇir-tē-kh} ‘to your mistress’ defines the social direction of the return, while tachat yadeha {תַּ֥חַת יָדֶֽיהָ | ta-ḥat yā-ḏe-yhā} ‘under her hands’ employs a spatial metaphor to express subordination. The formal translation preserves “Go back” and “submit yourself” as direct imperatives and retains “under her hands” to echo the Hebrew imagery, whereas the dynamic translation renders these as “Return” and “place yourself under her authority” to clarify the relational nuance of power and oversight. |