| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the formula chai Yahweh Eloheikha {חַי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ | ḥay Yə-hō-wāh ʾĕlōhêk̠ā} ‘as the LORD your God lives,’ which functions as a solemn oath. The conditional clause im yesh goy u-mamlakhah asher lo shalakh adoni sham levakkeshkha {אִם־יֶשׁ־גּוֹי וּמַמְלָכָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא־שָׁלַח אֲדֹנִי שָׁם לְבַקֵּשְׁךָ | ʾim yēš gôy wə-mamlāḵāh ăšer lō šālaḥ ădōnî šām lə-văqēšḵā} ‘if there is a nation and kingdom which my master has not sent to seek you’ places emphasis on the comprehensiveness of the search. The shift to ve-amru ayin {וְאָמְרוּ אָיִן | wə-āmərū āyīn} ‘and they said, “there is none here,”’ leads into ve-hishbi’a et ha-mamlakhah ve-et ha-goy ki lo yimtza’kha {וְהִשְׁבִּיעַ אֶת־הַמַּמְלָכָה וְאֶת־הַגּוֹי כִּי לֹא יִמְצָאֶךָ | wə-hišbîyaʿ ʾet ham-mamlāḵāh wə-ʾet ha-gôy kî lō yimṣāʾəḵā} highlighting the legal intensity of the oath. English ordering is adjusted for subject–verb–object clarity while preserving Hebrew emphases. |