| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive verb vatomer {וַתֹּאמֶר | va-tô-mer} ‘and she said,’ signaling the shift to direct address. The interrogative eikh {אֵיךְ | ʾêyk} ‘how’ issues a challenge, immediately followed by the parallel clause “and your heart is not with me,” where velibekha {וְלִבְּךָ | wə-lî-vê-kha} ‘your heart’ conveys relational intimacy. The demonstrative zeh {זֶה | zêh} ‘this’ then introduces an evaluative summary. The phrase shalosh peamim {שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים | šā-lōš pə-ʿā-mîm} ‘three times’ functions as an idiom of repetition. The sequence hetalta {הֵתַלְתָּ | he-tāl-tā} ‘you have deceived’ and velo-higadta {וְלֹא־הִגַּדְתָּ | wə-lō-hig-găd-tā} ‘you have not told’ creates a chiastic emphasis on concealment. Finally, the interrogative preposition bameh {בַּמֶּה | ba-meh} ‘by what’ frames the culminating focus on kochakha gadol ‘your great strength,’ with the noun gadol positioned clause-finally for rhetorical force. |