| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the vav-consecutive imperfect in wayyaʿăś {וַיַּ֤עַשׂ | wayyaʿăś} ‘and he made’, establishing sequential action. The construct chain nəḥaš nəḥōšet {נְחַשׁ נְחֹשֶׁת | nə-ḥaš nə-ḥō-šet} ‘serpent of bronze’ tightly links material and form. The vav-consecutive in wayyĭśīmēhû {וַיְשִׂמֵ֖הוּ | wayyĭśîmēhû} ‘and he set it’ retains Moses as the actor. The spatial phrase ʿal han-nēs {עַל־הַנֵּס | ʿal han-nēs} ‘upon the pole’ marks position through prepositional attachment. The protasis wə-hāyâ ʾim-nāšak {וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־נָשַׁ֤ךְ | wə-hā-yâ ʾim-nā-šak} ‘and it came to pass if it bit’ introduces the conditional clause. The direct object marker ʾet ʾîš {אֶת־אִ֔ישׁ | ʾet ʾîš} ‘et a man’ signals the patient. The Hiphil perfect wə-hĭbbīṭ {וְהִבִּ֛יט | wə-hĭbbīṭ} ‘and he looked’ emphasizes intentional gaze, reinforced by the following construct ʾel nəḥaš han-nəḥōšet {אֶל־נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת | ʾel nə-ḥaš han-nə-ḥō-šet} ‘to the bronze serpent’. The concluding vav-consecutive perfect wăḥāy {וָחָֽי | wă-ḥāy} ‘and he lived’ provides immediate apodosis, stressing the resulting deliverance. |