Saying, 'Do not touch my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm.' God's direct speech protects the patriarchs by claiming them as his own: 'my anointed ones,' 'my prophets.' These designations, typically applied to kings and authorized speakers in Israel, are here retrospectively applied to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sanctifying them as God's chosen agents. The prohibition 'do not touch...do no harm' establishes Israel's patriarchs as sacred, set apart by divine claim, making harm to them an offense against God himself.

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