| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with vayomer {וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’, marking each speaker turn. The parents’ question uses the interrogative ha’ên {הַאֵן֩ | ha’ên} ‘is there not’ and two parallel prepositional phrases bivnot {בִּבְנ֨וֹת | bivnôṯ} ‘among the daughters of’ and ūvəkal-’ammî {וּבְכָל־עַמִּי֙ | ūvəḵāl-’ammî} ‘and among all my people’, emphasizing familial boundaries. The purpose clause links the participle holekh {הוֹלֵךְ֙ | hōlēḵ} ‘going’ with the infinitive lakachat {לָקַחַת֙ | lāqaḥat} ‘to take’, conveying intent. The designation mi-plîšṯîm hā‘ărēlîm {מִפְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים הָעֲרֵלִ֑ים | mi-plîšṯîm hā‘ărēlîm} ‘from the uncircumcised Philistines’ marks an ethnocultural boundary. Samson’s reply introduces the imperative qaḥ-lî {קַֽח־לִ֔י | qaḥ-lî} ‘take for me’ and closes with the evaluative perfect yāšərâh {יָשְׁרָ֥ה | yāšərâh} ‘is right’ qualified by bə’ênāy {בְעֵינָֽי | bə’ênāy} ‘in my eyes’. The shift from Hebrew VSO in the question to SVO in the answer guides the English rendering from rhetorical inquiry to direct command. |