| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive vayyar’em {וַיַּרְעֵם | wayyāʿrēm} “and he thundered,” establishing a theophanic event. The locative baš-šā-māyim {בַּשָּׁמַיִם | baš-šā-māyim} “in the heavens” places the action in the celestial realm. The parallel divine titles Yahweh {יְהוָה | Yə-hō-wāh} “LORD” and ʿelyōn {עֶלְיוֹן | ʿelyōn} “Most High” underscore transcendent sovereignty. The verb yittēn {יִתֵּן | yittēn} “he gave” shifts focus to vocal manifestation, with qō-lō {קֹלוֹ | qō-lō} “his voice” as the object. The sequence bā-rād {בָּרָד | bā-rād} “hail” and gaḥalē-ʾēš {גַחֲלֵי־אֵשׁ | gaḥalē-’ēš} “coals of fire” forms a hendiadys that intensifies the imagery of judgment. Hebrew parallelism and asyndetic coordination are rendered through paired English phrases and an em dash to preserve dramatic momentum. |