| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the narrative particle vayehi {וַיְהִ֕י | wayhî} ‘and it was,’ marking the story’s progression. The construct phrase miqqets yamim rabbim {מִקֵּ֖ץ יָמִ֣ים רַבִּ֑ים | miqqēṣ yāmîm rabbîm} ‘after many days’ indicates an extended interval. The clause vayomer Yahweh elai {וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֵלַ֗י | wayyōmer Yəhōwāh ʾēlay} ‘and the LORD said to me’ introduces direct divine speech. A sequence of imperatives—kum {ק֚וּם | qûm} ‘arise,’ lekh {לֵ֣ךְ | lēḵ} ‘go,’ and veqakh {וְקַ֤ח | wəqāḥ} ‘take’—conveys urgent commands in order. The proper noun peratah {פְּרָ֔תָה | pə-rā-ṯāh} designates the Euphrates River as the destination. The direct object et-haezor {אֶת־הָ֣אֵז֔וֹר | ʾet-hā-ʾē-zôr} ‘the girdle’ is specified by the relative clause asher tsivitikha letamno sham {אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוִּיתִ֖יךָ לְטָמְנוֹ־שָֽׁם | ʾăšer ṣiwwîṯîḵā lə-ṭām-nô šām} ‘which I commanded you to hide there,’ maintaining the referential linkage. The Hebrew imperative structure preserves both the force and sequence of the divine commands. |