| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The verse’s narrative unfolds through Hebrew’s vav-consecutive sequence (vayavo {וַיָּבֹא | wayyāḇōʾ} ‘and he came’ → wayyōmer {וַיֹּאמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’), signaling connected divine speech. The prepositional phrase el-bilʿām {אֶל־בִּלְעָם | ʾel Bilʿām} marks movement to the seer, while laylā {לַיְלָה | laylā} as a temporal adverbial sets the scene. The protasis ʾim-liqrōʾ ləḵā {אִם־לִקְרֹא לְךָ | ʾim-liqrōʾ ləḵā} introduces the condition of the men’s mission. The Qal imperatives qūm and lēḵ govern Balaam’s permitted actions, with ʾittām {אִתָּם | ʾittām} indicating accompaniment. The restrictive vəʾaḵ {וְאַךְ | vəʾaḵ} contrasts unrestricted travel with exclusive obedience to the command. The clause ʾet-hadāḇār ʾăšer ʾădabbēr ʾēleḵā ʾōtō taʿăśśeh {אֶת־הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־אֲדַבֵּר אֵלֶיךָ אֹתוֹ תַעֲשֶׂה} uses multiple direct-object markers for emphasis, highlighting the binding authority of the divine utterance. |