| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the existential particle ein {אֵין | ʾēn} ‘there is not’ plus the comparative prepositional phrase kamōkā {כָּמֹכָֽךָ | kā-mō-ḵā} ‘like you’ to stress Yahweh’s {יְהוָה | Yə-hō-wāh} uniqueness. A parallel clause begins with the conjunction vav and another ein {וְאֵ֥ן | wə-ʾēn} ‘there is not,’ employing ʾĕlōhîm {אֱלֹהִים | ʾĕ-lō-hîm} in an exceptive zūlātəḵā {זוּלָתֶךָ | zū-lā-ṯə-ḵā} ‘except you’ construction to assert exclusive monotheism. The relative clause ʾăšer-šāmaʿnû {אֲשֶׁר־שָׁמַ֖עְנוּ | ʾă-šer-šā-ma-ʿnū} ‘that we have heard’ with beʾōznênū {בְּאָזְנֵֽינוּ | bə-ʾōz-nê-nū} ‘with our ears’ refers to oral tradition. Hebrew verbless clauses convey timeless proclamations, rendered in English with “there is” to mirror the original existential force. |