| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the interjection hinneh {הִנֵּה־ | hin-nēh} ‘behold’, introducing the quoted challenge. It follows the pronoun hemah {הֵ֕מָּה | hē-māh} ‘they’ and the Qal participle omrim {אֹמְרִ֖ים | ʾom-rîm} ‘are saying’, marking ongoing speech. The indirect object is marked by elai {אֵלָ֑י | ʾē-lāy} ‘to me’. An interrogative clause begins with ayeh {אַיֵּ֥ה | ʾay-yēh} ‘where’, leading into the construct noun devar {דְבַר־ | də-var} ‘word’ linked to the divine name Yahweh {יְהוָ֖ה | Yə-hō-wāh}, forming the idiom ‘word of the LORD’. The jussive imperfect yavoh {יָבֹוא | yā-ḇōʾ} ‘let it come’ expresses desire, and the emphatic particle na {נָֽא | nāʾ} intensifies the entreaty. The combination of a participial clause with a forceful jussive clause creates a tense rhetorical question, highlighting the prophet’s frustration with the absence of God’s promise. |