| 1. Linguistic Exegesis The opening vav-consecutive Piel verb vayedabber {וַיְדַבֵּר | wayyĭḏabber} ’and He spoke’ introduces direct divine address. The divine name Yahweh {יְהוָה | Yə-hō-wāh} ’LORD’ functions as the grammatical subject, emphasizing divine initiative. The prepositional construct el-yehoshua {אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ | ʾel yhô-shū-ʿāh} ’to Joshua’ marks the addressee. The infinitive construct lemor {לֵאמֹר | lē-ʾā-môr} ’saying’ serves as a discourse marker introducing subsequent speech. Retaining the Hebrew word order preserves the emphasis on the LORD’s communicative act. |