| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs standard Hebrew narrative sequencing with the wayyiqtol verbs vayishal {וַיִּשְׁאַ֞ל | wayyišʾal} ‘and he asked’ and vayomru {וַיֹּאמְר֔וּ | wayyōʾmrū} ‘and they said,’ marking successive actions. The particle et {אֶת־ | ʾeṯ} introduces the direct object anshei mekomah {אַנְשֵׁי מְקֹמָהּ֙ | ʾanšê məqōmāh} ‘the men of her place,’ a construct chain anchoring the inquiry in the local community. The infinitive construction leemor {לֵאמֹ֔ר | lēʾmōr} functions as a discourse marker introducing the quoted speech. The interrogative ayyeh {אַיֵּ֧ה | ʾayyêh} opens the question and focuses on location. The noun hakedeshah {הַקְּדֵשָׁ֛ה | haqqəḏēšāh} ‘the sacred prostitute’ uses the definite article to signal a specific cult figure. The clause hi baenayim al hadarekh {הִ֥וא בָעֵינַ֖יִם עַל־הַדָּ֑רֶךְ | hîʾ ḇāʿênayim ʿal-haddāreḵ} identifies her by location at Enaim beside the road. The reply echoes the narrative sequence with vayomru and a negated perfect lo hayetah bazeh kedeshah {לֹא־הָיְתָ֥ה בָזֶ֖ה קְדֵשָֽׁה | lō hāyṯāh ḇāzeh qədəšāh}, literally “there was not here a sacred prostitute,” where bazeh functions adverbially as ‘here.’ The translation preserves the question-answer structure while clarifying social and spatial contexts. |