| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with vayomer {וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | wayyōʾmer} ‘and He said,’ using the vav-consecutive to continue the narrative. The noun phrase malʾakh Yahweh {מַלְאַ֣ךְ יְהוָ֔ה | malʾāḵ Yəhôwâ} ‘messenger of the LORD’ presents a noun-noun construct emphasizing divine agency. The interrogative lamah zeh {לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֖ה | lām māh zeh} ‘why this’ intensifies the question, followed by the imperfect verb tishʾal {תִּשְׁאַ֣ל | ṯišʾāl} marking ongoing inquiry. Lishmî {לִשְׁמִ֑י | lišmî} ‘for my name’ combines the lamed prefix of purpose with a pronominal suffix. The clause wəhūʾ pelʾāy {וְהוּא־פֶ֛לִאי | wəhūʾ pelʾāy} omits the verb, a common Hebrew ellipsis that highlights the adjective ‘wonderful’ and underscores the ineffability of the divine name. |