| 36. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew narrative opens with the vav-consecutive verb, advancing the discourse. The verb vayedabber {וַיְדַבֵּר | way-yĕ-dā-bēr} 'and he spoke' introduces direct divine communication. The infinitive construct leʾemor {לֵּאמֹר | lē-ʾê-mōr} 'saying' functions as a speech-introducing particle. The prepositional phrase ʾel-mōšeh {אֶל־מֹשֶׁה | ʾel-mō-šeh} 'to Moses' marks the human recipient. The shift from Hebrew VSO order to English SVO preserves clarity while emphasizing the authoritative nature of the divine speaker. |