| 41. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayyoʾmer {וַיֹּאמֶר | wayyōʾmer} ‘and he said’, introducing direct discourse. The interrogative lāmāh zēh {לָמָּה זֶּה | lāmāh zēh} ‘why this’ serves as a rhetorical challenge emphasizing the demonstrative zēh. The participle ’ōvrīm {עֹבְרִים | ’ōvrīm} ‘crossing’ conveys ongoing action and pairs with the construct phrase ’et pî Yahweh {אֶת־פִּי יְהוָה | ’et-pî Yahweh} ‘the mouth of the LORD’ to denote the violated instruction. The conjunction wəhî {וְהִוא | wəhî} ‘and it’ resumes reference to the action and introduces a result clause, with tiṣlaḥ {תִצְלָח | tiṣlaḥ} ‘will succeed’ marking the anticipated outcome negated by lōʾ {לֹא | lōʾ}. This structure frames a direct judicial inquiry followed by a stark warning of failure. |