| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive imperfect vayomer {וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vayyōmer} ‘and he said’, which transitions into direct discourse. The subject Elohim {אֱלֹהִים֙ | ʾĕlōhîm} ‘God’ addresses Balaam {בִּלְעָ֔ם | Bilʿām}, followed by two parallel prohibitions lo telekh {לֹ֥א תֵלֵ֖ךְ | lō tēlēḵ} ‘do not go’ and lo taor {לֹ֤א תָאֹר֙ | lō tōʾr} ‘do not curse’. The phrase immahem {עִמָּהֶ֑ם | ʿimmāhēm} ‘with them’ clarifies prohibited accompaniment, while et-haam {אֶת־הָעָ֔ם | ʾet-hā-ʿām} ‘the people’ serves as direct object. The conjunction ki {כִּ֥י | kî} introduces the causal clause ending with barukh {בָר֖וּךְ | bārûḵ} ‘blessed’ and the pronoun hu {הֽוּא׃ | hūʾ}, preserving Hebrew thematic progression. English punctuation splits the imperatives and causal rationale to mirror Hebrew emphasis and maintain clarity. |