| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the negation lo {לֹא | lō} ‘not’, followed by the prepositional phrase lachem {לָכֶם | lā-ḵem} ‘for you’. The infinitive construct lehilachem {לְהִלָּחֵם | lə-hil-lā-ḥēm} introduces a purposive clause indicating that Israel is not required to fight. The demonstrative prepositional phrase bazot {בָּזֹאת | bā-zôt} ‘in this’ specifies the setting. A series of imperatives—hityatzevu {הִתְיַצְּבוּ | hit-ya-ṣə-vū} ‘station yourselves’, imdu {עִמְדוּ | im-mə-dū} ‘stand’, and ure'u {וּרְאוּ | wə-re-’ū} ‘and see’—coordinate actions of divine witnessing rather than human contest. The construct yeshu'at Yahweh {יְשׁוּעַת יְהוָה | ye-šū-‘āṯ Yəhōwāh} ‘salvation of Yahweh’ foregrounds divine agency. The jussive prohibitions al-tiru'u and ve-al-teichatu {אַל־תִּירְאוּ וְאַל־תֵּחַתּוּ | ’al-ti-rə-’ū wə-’al-tê-ḥat-tū} employ Qal imperfect forms to forbid fear and discouragement. The temporal adverb makhar {מָחָר | mā-ḥār} ‘tomorrow’ pairs with the imperative tze'u {צְאוּ | ṣə-’ū} ‘go out’ to schedule action. The vav consecutive with Yahweh immakhem {וַיְהוָה עִמָּכֶם | way-yəhōwāh im-mā-ḵem} ‘and Yahweh is with you’ frames the promise of divine presence. In translation, the Hebrew VSO imperatives are rendered as SVO commands, preserving sequence and emphasis while maintaining theological weight. |