| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the conditional particle im {אִם | ʾim} introducing a hypothetical, followed by yitten {יִתֶּן | yiṯ-ṯen} in the Qal imperfect to express a potential action. The construct sequence məloʾ bêytô {מְלֹא בֵיתוֹ | mə-lōʾ bêy-tô} ‘fullness of his house’ denotes totality, reinforced by the asyndeton késēp̄ wə-zāhāv {כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב | késēp̄ wə-zā-hāv} ‘silver and gold’. The negation lōʾ ʾûkhal la-ʿăvôr {לֹא אוּכַל לַעֲבֹר | lōʾ ʾû-ḵal la-ʿă-vôr} uses the first person imperfect to convey inability. The phrase ʾet-pî Yahweh {אֶת־פִּי יְהוָה | ʾet-pî Yahweh} ‘the mouth of the LORD’ personifies divine command. The infinitive la-ʿăsôt governs the merism ṭōvâh ʾō rāʿâh {טוֹבָה אוֹ רָעָה | ṭō-vâh ʾō rāʿâh} ‘good or evil’. The prepositional phrase mil-lîbbî {מִלִבִּי | mil-lîbbî} ‘from my heart’ signifies volition. The relative clause ʾă-šer yə-dabbēr {אֲשֶׁר־יְדַבֵּר | ʾă-šer yə-dab-bēr} links to ʾă-dabbēr {אֲדַבֵּר | ʾă-dab-bēr}, framing Balaam’s commitment to speak solely what the LORD utters. |