| 1. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the vav consecutive form vayehi {וַיְהִי | wayhî} ‘and it happened,’ establishing event sequence. The temporal frame combines miyyāyim {מִיָּמִ֜ים | miyyāyim} ‘after some days’ with bimei ketzir-chitim {בִּימֵי קְצִיר־חִטִּים | bimê qeṣîr-ḥiṭṭîm} ‘in the days of the wheat harvest,’ situating action in the agrarian cycle. The verb vayifqod {וַיִּפְקֹד | wayyipqōḏ} ‘and visited’ takes et-ishto {אֶת־אִשְׁתּוֹ | ʾet-ʾištô} ‘his wife’ as object. The construct bigdi izzim {בִּגְדִי עִזִּים | bigdî ʿiẓẓîm} ‘with a young goat’ shows the gift offering. Dialogue is marked by vayomer avoah {וַיֹּאמֶר אָבֹאָה | wayyōmer ʾāwāʾ}, a vav consecutive + cohortative expressing volitional speech. The direction el-ishti hechadra {אֶל־אִשְׁתִּי הֶחָדְרָה | ʾel-ʾištî heḥādrā} ‘to my wife’s chamber’ frames intent. The prohibitive velo-netano lavo {וְלֹֽא־נְתָנ֥וֹ לָבֽוֹא | wə·lōʾ-nəṯānô lāḇōʾ} contrasts intention and refusal, heightening tension. |