| 37. Linguistic Exegesis The verse unfolds in two sequential wayyiqtol clauses introduced by the prefixed vav consecutive, vateled {וַתֵּלֶד | wat-tê-leḏ} ‘and she bore’ followed by vatikra {וַתִּקְרָא | wat-ti-q-rāʾ} ‘and she called’. The overt subject habechirah {הַבְּכִירָה | hab-bə-ḵî-rāh} ‘the firstborn’ governs the direct object ben {בֵּן | bēn} ‘son’ in the first clause. In the second clause shemo {שְׁמוֹ | še-mô} ‘his name’ functions as construct complement to the naming verb, with Moav {מוֹאָב | mō-ʾāḇ} ‘Moab’ as the substantive naming object. The independent pronoun hu {הוּא | hûʾ} ‘he’ introduces a copular nominal clause hu avi-Moav {הוּא אֲבִי־מוֹאָב | hûʾ ’ă-vî-mō-’āḇ}, where the construct chain avi-Moav denotes the eponymous ancestor of Moab’s people. The prepositional phrase ad-hayom {עַד־הַיּֽוֹם | ’aḏ-ha-yôm} ‘until the day’ marks a temporal boundary idiomatically rendered ‘to this day’, linking the ancestral statement to the narrative present. An English copula is supplied to capture the Hebrew verbless clause and maintain the identification nuance. |