| 22. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with vayehi {וַיְהִי֙ | wayhî} ‘and it happened’, employing the vav consecutive with the Qal imperfect to set a narrative scene. The temporal phrase ba‘et hahi {בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֔וא | bāʿēt hahîʾ} ‘at that time’ anchors the episode. The connector vayomer {וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’ introduces the compound subject Avimelekh ûpîḵōl {אֲבִימֶ֗לֶךְ וּפִיכֹל֙ | ʾăvîmeleḵ ûpîḵōl}, further defined by the construct sar-ṣəvāʾô {שַׂר־צְבָא֔וֹ | śar-ṣəvāʾô} ‘commander of his army’. The prepositional phrase el Abraham {אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֖ם | ʾel ʾaḇrāhām} marks Abraham as addressee, with the infinitive lemor {לֵאמֹ֑ר | lēʾmōr} signaling direct speech. The nominal clause Elohim immekha {אֱלֹהִ֣ים עִמְּךָ֔ | ʾĕlōhîm ʿimməḵā} ‘God with you’ is rendered with an English copula, followed by the relative clause bekhol asher attah oseh {בְּכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֖ה עֹשֶֽׂה | bəḵōl ʾăšer ʾattāh ʿōśeh} ‘in all that you do’, specifying the scope of Abraham’s activities under divine presence. |