Rhetorical Interrogatives and Emphatic Coordinated Clauses in Judicial Appeal

Introduction to Genesis 44:16

In this emotionally charged verse, Yehudah responds to Yosef’s implied accusation with humility, rhetorical questions, and confession. The verse displays a stylistic layering of interrogatives, volitive verbs, and coordinated clauses, used to convey guilt and submission. This lesson focuses on rhetorical interrogatives (especially with מַה) and the syntax of emphatic coordination using גַּם… גַּם for legal self-incrimination and communal solidarity.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוּדָ֗ה מַה־נֹּאמַר֙ לַֽאדֹנִ֔י מַה־נְּדַבֵּ֖ר וּמַה־נִּצְטַדָּ֑ק הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים מָצָא֙ אֶת־עֲוֹ֣ן עֲבָדֶ֔יךָ הִנֶּנּ֤וּ עֲבָדִים֙ לַֽאדֹנִ֔י גַּם־אֲנַ֕חְנוּ גַּ֛ם אֲשֶׁר־נִמְצָ֥א הַגָּבִ֖יעַ בְּיָדֹֽו׃

Analysis of Key Words and Structures

1. וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוּדָ֗ה (vayomer Yehudah) – “And Yehudah said.”
   – Wayyiqtol narrative verb וַיֹּאמֶר from אמר, introducing direct speech.
2. מַה־נֹּאמַר לַֽאדֹנִ֔י (mah-nomar laʾdoni) – “What can we say to my lord?”
   – Interrogative מַה (“what”) + cohortative-like imperfect נֹּאמַר (1cp from אמר).
   – Used rhetorically to express powerlessness or lack of defense.
3. מַה־נְּדַבֵּ֖ר (mah-nedabber) – “What can we speak?”
   – Repetition with synonym דבר, building poetic emphasis and deepening the tone of helplessness.
4. וּמַה־נִּצְטַדָּ֑ק (umaḥ-nitztaddaq) – “And how can we be justified?”
   – Hitpael imperfect 1cp from צדק (“to be just”).
   – Continues the rhetorical triad, climaxing in a legal term about righteousness or acquittal.
5. הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים מָצָא֙ אֶת־עֲוֹ֣ן עֲבָדֶ֔יךָ (haʾelohim matsa et-ʿavon ʿavadeikha) – “God has found the guilt of your servants.”
   – Perfect verb מָצָא + object אֶת־עֲוֹן (“guilt, iniquity”).
   – Indicates divine exposure, not merely discovery by Yosef.
   – עֲבָדֶ֔יךָ = “your servants,” referring to the brothers in deferential humility.
6. הִנֶּנּ֤וּ עֲבָדִים֙ לַֽאדֹנִ֔י (hinenu ʿavadim laʾdoni) – “Here we are, slaves to my lord.”
   – הִנֶּנּוּ is a compound form of הִנֵּה + pronominal suffix “we,” functioning as an expression of submission.
   – עֲבָדִים (“slaves”) repeated for dramatic self-incrimination.
7. גַּם־אֲנַ֕חְנוּ גַּ֛ם אֲשֶׁר־נִמְצָ֥א הַגָּבִ֖יעַ בְּיָדֹֽו (gam-anakhnu gam asher-nimtza haggavīaʿ beyado) – “Both we and the one in whose hand the goblet was found.”
   – Double גַּם… גַּם expresses emphatic inclusivity: not only the guilty, but the whole group assumes responsibility.
   – Relative clause אֲשֶׁר נִמְצָא… בְּיָדֹו defines the individual caught with the item.

Rhetorical Interrogatives and Emphatic Unity in Legal Pleas

Yehudah opens with a tricolon of rhetorical questions:

– מַה־נֹּאמַר – “What can we say?”
– מַה־נְּדַבֵּר – “What can we speak?”
– וּמַה־נִּצְטַדָּק – “And how can we justify ourselves?”

Each uses a 1cp imperfect form, conveying a present-tense incapacity, not just future possibility. The effect is cumulative, leading to full submission. These rhetorical questions function as a legal plea of surrender, not a request for mercy but a declaration of guilt.

The phrase הָאֱלֹהִים מָצָא reframes the event as divinely orchestrated exposure—not just Yosef’s trap, but God’s justice. The brothers are caught not merely for theft, but as symbolic judgment on earlier sins (e.g., selling Yosef).

The climactic line uses the double גַּם… גַּם construction to include the entire group in guilt:
– גַּם אֲנַ֕חְנוּ – “We also”
– גַּם אֲשֶׁר נִמְצָא – “Also the one found with the goblet”

This collective confession demonstrates covenantal solidarity, a key theme in Genesis. Grammatically, the coordination is emphatic and stylistically poetic.

How Rhetorical Questions and Inclusive Grammar Convey Confession

Genesis 44:16 uses grammar as repentance. Yehudah’s speech weaves legal, emotional, and theological strands into one tightly constructed rhetorical form.

– The interrogatives show that no defense can be offered.
– The perfect verb + divine subject shifts blame from human scheming to divine justice.
– The double גַּם makes clear that the brothers stand or fall together.

By mastering the use of rhetorical questions and emphatic coordination, Biblical Hebrew creates a confessional grammar that mirrors human vulnerability before divine judgment.

In Yehudah’s mouth, grammar becomes guilt—and also the first step toward reconciliation.