| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative proceeds through a series of vav-consecutive verbs, beginning with vayomeru {וַיֹּאמְרוּ | wayyōʾmerû} ‘and they said’, which introduces the direct speech via the infinitive construct lemor {לֵאמֹר | lēʾmōr} ‘saying’. The paired infinitive absolute ki-asor {כִּי־אָסֹר | kî-ʾāsôr} ‘binding’ and vehamet {וְהָמֵת | wə-hāmēt} ‘dying’ frame the negation lo nemitecha {לֹא נְמִיתֶךָ | lōʾ nəmîṯėḵā} ‘we will not kill you’ with emphatic force. The account then returns to narrative with vayaasruhu {וַיַּאַסְרֻהוּ | wayyaʾăsərûhū} ‘and they bound him’, where bishnayim {בִּשְׁנַיִם | bišnayyaim} ‘with two’ specifies the dual instrument avotim chadashim {עֲבֹתִים חֲדָשִׁים | ʿăbōṯîm ḥădāšîm} ‘new ropes’, and the verb vayaaluhu {וַיַּעֲל֖וּהוּ | wayyaʿălûhū} ‘and they brought him up’ is completed by the source phrase minhassela {מִן־הַסָּלַע | min-hassālāʿ} ‘from the rock’. This structure highlights both the promise of nonlethality and the vivid depiction of Samson’s removal. |