| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse features a series of parallel clauses that intensify the depiction of divine wrath. The verb alah {עָלָה | ʿā-lāh} ‘went up’ introduces smoke in the prepositional phrase be-appo {בְּאַפּוֹ | bə-ʾappō} ‘in his nostrils’. The coordinating conjunction vav precedes a second prepositional phrase, ve-esh {וְאֵשׁ | wə-ʾēš} ‘and fire’ followed by mi-piv {מִפִּיו | mip-pîw} ‘from his mouth’. The imperfect form tokhel {תֹּאכֵל | tō-ʾḵēl} ‘devours’ adds enduring force to the fire. The focus shifts to solid fuel, gechalim {גֶּחָלִים | ge-ḥā-lîm} ‘coals’, with ba'aru {בָּעֲרוּ | bā-ʿă-rū} ‘they burned’, and mimennu {מִמֶּנּוּ | mi-mén-nū} ‘from him’ marking God as the source. This tight Hebrew poetic structure, marked by coordination and temporal progression, is rendered in English by preserving clause order and using a semicolon to mirror the original’s dramatic buildup. |