| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the attention marker hinneh {הִנֵּ֥ה | hi-nēh} ‘behold’, highlighting the proclamation. The Piel infinitive absolute barekh {בָרֵ֖ךְ | ba-rē-ḵ} intensifies the action expressed by the Qal perfect laqakhti {לָקָ֑חْתִּי | lā-qā-ḥtî} ‘I have taken’, forming an emphatic verbal aspect pattern. The Vav-consecutive sequence uverekh {וּבֵרֵ֖ךְ | ū-bē-rē-ḵ} ‘and he has blessed’ mirrors the initial intensification, underscoring divine agency. The conjunction velo {וְלֹ֥א | wə-lō} introduces negation, leading into the Hiphil imperfect ashibennah {אֲשִׁיבֶֽנָּה | a-šî-bən-nāh} ‘I will return it’, which conveys the speaker’s inability to reverse God’s act. This pattern of infinitive absolute + perfect + Vav-consecutive + imperfect emphasizes the irrevocability of the blessing. |