| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the vav-consecutive verbs vattabo {וַתָּבֹ֣א | wā-ṭā-bō} ‘and she came’ and vatomer {וַתֹּ֣אמֶר | waṭ-ṭō-mer} ‘and she said’, signaling sequential action and introducing direct speech via the infinitive construct lemor {לֵאמֹר | le-ʾā-môr} ‘saying’. The noun phrase ish haelohim {אִ֤ישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים | ʾîš hā-ʾĕ-lō-hîm} ‘a man of God’ establishes a divinely commissioned figure. The simile umarehu kemareh malakh haelohim {וּמַרְאֵ֕הוּ כְּמַרְאֵ֛ה מַלְאַךְ הָאֱלֹהִים | ū-mār-ʾê-hû kə-mār-ʾê malʾāḵ hā-ʾĕ-lō-hîm} uses the preposition kə ‘like’ and parallel structure to compare his appearance to an angelic being. The intensifier nora meod {נוֹרָא מְאֹד | nō-rāʾ mê-ʾōḏ} heightens the sense of awe. The paired clauses velo sheilthu … lohigid li {וְלֹא שְׁאִלְתִּ֙יהוּ … לֹא־הִגִּ֥יד לִֽי | wə-lōʾ šə-ʾil-tē-hû … lōʾ-higgîḏ lī} form a double negative that underscores the speaker’s lack of information. The English rendering preserves Hebrew clause order, emphatic simile, and narrative progression. |