| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The conjunction vegam {וְגַם | wə-gam} connects this promise to the prior assurance, introducing an additional commitment. The direct object marker et {אֶת־ | ʾeṯ} marks the focus on the noun phrase ben haamah {בֶּן־הָאָמָה | ben-hā-ʾā-māh} “son of the maidservant.” The prepositional phrase legoy {לְגוֹי | lə-gôy} “into a nation” precedes the verb ashimenu {אֲשִׂימֶנּוּ | ʾă-śî-mēn-nû}, foregrounding the intended result before stating the divine action. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} introduces the causal clause, and the emphatic pronoun hu {הוּא | hûʾ} underscores that this promise rests on genuine descent. The imperfect ashimenu retains its future orientation, and the cause–effect relationship marked by ki is preserved in English with “because.” The English word order is slightly smoothed to enhance clarity while maintaining the Hebrew emphasis on divine action and rationale. |