This particle turns any statement into a question. It can introduce genuine inquiries where the answer is unknown, or rhetorical questions expecting a particular response—often negative. Biblical Hebrew frequently uses it for questions expressing surprise, indignation, or irony. Sometimes it appears in indirect questions ('whether') or in deliberative questions where the speaker asks himself what to do. The tone varies dramatically with context, from Moses's straightforward 'Shall I go?' to God's pointed rhetorical questions in Job, where the expected answer underscores human limitation.