| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive Piel imperfect vatekachesh {וַתְּכַחֵ֨שׁ | wat-tə-ḵa-ḥēš} ‘and she denied,’ marking narrative continuity. The name Sarah {שָׂרָ֧ה | śā-rāh} follows a disjunctive accent, foregrounding her action. The infinitive construct le-emor {לֵאמֹר | lē-ʾmōr} ‘to say’ introduces Sarah’s speech, followed by lo tsachakti {לֹ֥א צָחַ֖קְתִּי | lōʾ ṣā-ḥaq-tî} ‘I did not laugh.’ The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} functions causally in ki yareah {כִּי יָרֵאָה | kî yā-rē-ʾāh} ‘because she was afraid,’ explaining her denial. A second vav-consecutive verb, vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | way-yō-mer} ‘and he said,’ introduces the divine reply. The compact lo ki tsachakt {לֹ֖א כִּ֥י צָחָקְתְּ | lōʾ kî ṣā-ḥaq-t} ‘not, but you laughed’ uses adversative structure and word order for emphasis. The translation divides the Hebrew clauses into natural English sentences and markers (“Then,” “But”) while preserving the narrative flow and the stark contrast between Sarah’s denial and the divine correction. |