| 1. Linguistic Exegesis The verse is a short dialogue frame built from two successive wayyiqtol verbs, vayan {וַ֭יַּעַן | wayyaʿan} ‘and he answered’ followed by vayomer {וַיֹּאמַֽר | wayyōʾmer} ‘and he said’. This paired sequence is a conventional Hebrew discourse marker that advances the turn-taking of speeches: the first verb signals a response to what precedes, and the second explicitly introduces the coming utterance. The subject is identified in apposition as Eliphaz hatemani {אֱלִיפַ֥ז הַֽתֵּימָנִ֗י | ʾĕlîpaz hat-têmānî}, where the gentilic “the Temanite” functions as a social-geographic tag, highlighting his origin/association as part of the speaker’s characterization. English can represent the Hebrew cadence by retaining both verbs (“answered … and said”), while still conveying a single speech-introduction unit. |