| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayehi {וַיְהִ֞י | way-hî} ‘and it happened,’ a Qal wayyiqtol form functioning as a narrative hinge that introduces background. The temporal conjunction kaʾasher {כַּאֲשֶׁ֧ר | ka-ʾă-šer} ‘when’ subordinates the causative clause. The Hiphil perfect hitʿu {הִתְע֣וּ | hit-ʿû} ‘they caused to wander’ attributes divine agency to ʾĕlohim {אֱלֹהִים֮ | ʾĕ-lō-hîm} despite the plural form. The prepositional phrase mibbēt ʾāvî {מִבֵּ֣ית אָבִי֒ | mi-bēt ʾā-vî} ‘from my father’s house’ emphasizes separation from ancestral roots. The following wayyiqtol wayʾōmar {וָאֹמַ֣ר | wā-ʾō-mar} ‘and I said’ transitions into reported speech. Inside the quotation, the demonstrative zeh ḥasdêkh {זֶ֣ה חַסְדֵּ֔ךְ | zeh ḥas-dêkh} ‘this is your kindness’ defines the favor requested, with the relative clause ʾăšer taʿăśî ʿimmādî {אֲשֶׁ֥ר תַּעֲשִׂ֖י עִמָּדִ֑י | ʾă-šer ta-ʿă-śî ʿim-mā-dî} expressing an ongoing obligation. The distributive expression ʾel kol-hammāqôm ʾăšer nabōʾ šammāh {אֶ֤ל כָּל־הַמָּקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָב֣וֹא שָׁ֔מָּה | ʾel kol-ham-mā-qôm ʾă-šer nā-vōʾ šām-māh} extends the instruction to every future location. The imperative ʾimrî-li ʾāḥî hûʾ {אִמְרִי־לִ֖י אָחִ֥י הֽוּא׃ | ʾim-rî-lî ʾā-ḥî hûʾ} ‘say, “He is my brother”’ prescribes the self-identification formula. In English the wayyiqtol forms are rendered as simple past for narrative cohesion, and the imperfect and imperative forms are rendered with future-modal or habitual expressions to preserve the ongoing and prescriptive nuances. |