| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the sequential marker vayehi {וַיְהִי | wā-yə-ḥî} ‘and it was,’ signaling a shift in action. The infinitive construct bevo’ah {בְּבוֹאָהּ | bə-vō-’āh} ‘when she came’ forms a temporal clause setting the scene. The Hifil imperfect vatesitehu {וַתְּסִיתֵ֙הוּ֙ | wāṯ-ṯə-sî-te-hû} ‘she urged him’ conveys intentional causation, and the infinitive lish’ol {לִשְׁאוֹל | li-šə-’ōl} ‘to ask’ expresses purpose. The phrase me’et-aviha {מֵאֵת־אָבִ֙יהָ֙ | mē-’êṯ ā-vî-hā} ‘from her father’ uses min + et to mark source. A new action begins with the waw-consecutive in vatisnakh {וַתִּצְנַ֖ח | wāṯ-ṭiṣ-nāḥ} ‘she dismounted.’ The direct question mah-lakh {מַה־לָּֽךְ | ma-h lā-ḵ} ‘what to you’ conveys concern. The sequence of waw-consecutive clauses and purpose infinitives establishes clear cause-and-effect and temporal progression, which English renders through successive clauses that preserve these functions. |