| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with vateled {וַתֵּ֤לֶד | waṯ-tê-ḷeḏ} ‘and she bore’, a vav-consecutive Qal imperfect that propels the story. The subject haishah {הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ | hā-ʾiš-šāh} ‘the woman’ introduces agency in childbearing. The noun ben {בֵּ֔ן | bēn} ‘a son’ marks the new arrival, followed by vatikra {וַתִּקְרָ֥א | waṯ-tik-rāʾ} ‘and she called’ which forms the naming clause with et-shemo {אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ | ʾet-šəm-mō} ‘his name’. The proper name Shimshon {שִׁמְשׁ֑וֹן | šim-šôn} anchors individual identity. The second sequence uses vayigdal {וַיִּגְדַּ֣ל | way-yig-daḷ} ‘and he grew’, where hanaar {הַנַּ֔עַר | han-na-ʿar} ‘the youth’ specifies Samson, and vayevarkhehu {וַֽיְבָרְכֵ֖הוּ | way-yə-ḇār-kē-hū} ‘and he blessed him’ presents Yahweh {יְהוָֽה | yĕ-hō-wāh} as subject in Piel to underscore divine bestowal of favor. The chain of vav-consecutives links birth, naming, growth, and blessing in a compact narrative unit. |