| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse unfolds through a series of vav-consecutive verbs that drive the narrative action: vayyohazuhu {וַיֹּאחֲז֣וּהוּ | wayyōḥăzûhû} ‘and they seized him’, wayyenakkeru {וַיְנַקְּ֨רוּ | wayyenakkerû} ‘and they gouged out’, wayyoridu {וַיּוֹרִ֛ידוּ | wayyôrîḏū} ‘and they brought down’, wayyasruhu {וַיַּאַסְר֙וּהוּ֙ | wayyāsərûhû} ‘and they bound him’, and vayhi {וַיְהִ֥י | wayhî} ‘and he became’. The direct object marker et {אֶת־ | ʾeṯ} marks the definite object et-einav {אֶת־עֵינָ֑יו | ʾeṯ-ʿênāyw} ‘his eyes’. The dual form banhushhtayim {בַּֽנְחֻשְׁתַּ֔יִם | banḥušṯayim} ‘with bronze shackles’ emphasizes the pair of fetters. Finally, the participle tōḥēn {טוֹחֵ֖ן | tōḥēn} linked with vayhi expresses ongoing forced labor in the house of the prisoners (bebeit haasurim {בְּבֵ֥ית הָאֲסוּרִֽים | bə-ḇêṯ ha-ʾăsūrîm}). This structure underscores the systematic brutality and subjugation of Samson. |