| 33. Linguistic Exegesis The verse unfolds as a sequence of wayyiqtol verbs, typical of Hebrew narrative. The opening verb vatashkena {וַתַּשְׁקֶ֧יןָ | wat-taš-qê-nā} ‘and they caused to drink’ is a Hiphil wayyiqtol, emphasizing the daughters’ active role. The particle et {אֶת־ | ’eṯ} marks avihen {אֲבִיהֶן | ’ă-vî-hen} ‘their father’ as the definite direct object, while yayin {יַיִן | yā-yin} ‘wine’ identifies the means of intoxication. The temporal adverbial ballailah {בַּלַּיְלָה | bal-lay-lāh} ‘at night’ sets the timeframe before hu {הוּא | hûʾ}, the emphatic resumptive pronoun linking to the following actions. The verbs vatavo {וַתָּבֹא | wat-tā-ḇōʾ} ‘and she came in’ and vatishkav {וַתִּשְׁכַּב | wat-tiš-kab} ‘and she lay down’ occur in immediate succession, with habchirah {הַבְּכִירָה | hab-bə-ḵî-rāh} ‘the elder daughter’ distinguishing the agent. The second et {אֶת־ | ’eṯ} introduces aviha {אָבִיהָ | ’ā-vî-hā} ‘her father’ as the object of the euphemistic lying. The negated clause velo yada {וְלֹא־יָדַע | wə-lō-yā-ḏaʿ} ‘and he did not know’ is followed by beshikhvah {בְּשִׁכְבָהּ | bə-šiḵ-ḇāh} ‘in her lying down’ and uvkumah {וּבְקוּמָהּ | û-ḇə-qû-māh} ‘and in her rising up’, which function as temporal phrases rendered as “when she lay down” and “when she got up,” underscoring his complete unawareness. |