| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the waw-consecutive verb vayomer {וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | wa-yō-mer} ‘and he said,’ establishing sequential action before direct speech. The prepositional lahem {לָהֶם | lā-hem} marks Samson’s audience. The Piel perfect niqqē-tî {נִקֵּ֥יתִי | niqqē-tî} conveys a resultant state of innocence, while the temporal adverbial hə-paʿ-am {הַפַּ֖עַם | hə-paʿ-am} identifies this specific occasion. The phrase mi-p̄lištîm {מִפְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים | mi-p̄lištîm} situates his statement against the Philistines. The conjunction kî with the Qal participle kî-ʿōśeh {כִּֽי־עֹשֶׂ֥ה | kî-ʿōśeh} introduces a temporal clause (‘when I act’), framing the condition under which his innocence holds. The noun rāʿāh {רָעָֽה | rāʿāh} functions as the direct object denoting the injurious act, emphasizing the tension between his claimed innocence and threatened retribution. |