וְנִינְוֵה הָיְתָה עִיר־גְּדוֹלָה לֵאלֹהִים. Narrative discourse—off-the-line. The X + qatal construction signals topicalization, thus indicating a shift in focus in the middle of the discourse. The narrative provides background information related to the fronted element, נִינְוֵה. More particularly, however, the X + הָיָה construction is “as grammatically bold-faced as a statement of fact can get” (Rocine, 338), thus serving to mark a high point in the text (Dawson, 159). Thus the clause may signal