| 34. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with vayomer {וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’, using the vav-consecutive Qal imperfect (3ms) to introduce direct speech. The construct chain mal’akh Yahweh {מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה | malʾāḵ Yəhōwāh} ‘angel of the LORD’ positions a divine envoy in Balaam’s path. The confession ḥāṭāʾtî {חָטָ֔אתִי | ḥāṭāʾtî} ‘I have sinned’ is followed by the causal clause kî lōʾ yāḏaʿtî {כִּ֚י לֹא יָדַעְתִּי | kî lōʾ yāḏaʿtî} ‘for I did not know’. The participial phrase nitsṣāḇ liqrōʾtî {נִצָּ֥ב לִקְרָאתִ֖י | nitsṣāḇ liqrōʾtî} ‘standing to meet me’ serves as an agentive circumstance. The temporal marker wə-’aṭtāh {וְעַתָּ֛ה | wə-’aṭtāh} ‘and now’ introduces the conditional ’im-rāʿ bə-’ênêḵā ’āšūwᵊbā lî {אִם־רַע בְּעֵינֶיךָ אָשׁוּבָה לִּי | ’im-rāʿ bə-’ênêḵā ’āšūwᵊbā lî} ‘if it displeases you, I will return’, closing with a cohortative offering submission. The English shift to subject-verb-object clarifies Balaam’s proposal. |