| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with ki {כִּי | kî} ‘for/because,’ introducing the rationale clause. The noun phrase davar elai bidvar Yahweh {דָבָר אֵלַי בִּדְבַר יְהוָה | dā·wār ʾê·lāy biḏ·wār yǝ·hō·wāh} ‘a word to me by the word of the LORD’ employs a construct chain and prepositional phrases to mark divine origin. Sequential negative particles lo {לֹא | lōʾ} govern the imperfect verbs toakhal {תֹאכַל | tô·ʾā·ḵal}, tishteh {תִשְׁתֶּה | tiš·tēh}, and tashuv {תָשׁוּב | ṯā·šūḇ}, highlighting progressive prohibitions. The infinitive lalechet {לָלֶכֶת | lā·le·ḵeṯ} introduces purpose, and the relative clause asher halakhta bah {אֲשֶׁר־הָלַכְתָּ בָּהּ | ʾă·šeṯ hā·lāk·tā bāh} ‘which you went in it’ specifies the path to be avoided. English rendering preserves the tight linkage of prohibitions and their divine source while rendering the relative clause smoothly. |