| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with attah {עַתָּה | ʿattāh} ‘now’ followed by the demonstrative hinneh {הִנֵּה | hinnēh} ‘behold’, creating immediate urgency. The verb batachta {בָּטַחְתָּ | bāṭaḥtā} ‘you have trusted’ (Qal perfect second person masculine singular) addresses the audience directly. The construct mishenet ha-qaneh ha-ratsuts ha-zzeh {מִשְׁעֶנֶת הַקָּנֶה הָרָצוּץ הַזֶּה | mišʿenet ha-qā·neh hā-rā·ṣûṣ ha-zzeh} ‘the staff of this broken reed’ functions as the object of misplaced reliance. A relative clause with asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾă·šer} ‘which’ introduces a conditional Nifal imperfect yissamekh {יִסָּמֵךְ | yiṣ·sā·mekh} ‘he leans’, and the vav-consecutive perfects ū-va {וּבָא | ū·vā} ‘and comes’ and ū-neqavah {וּנְקָבָהּ | ū·neqā·vāh} ‘and it pierces’ describe the immediate consequence. The adversative ken {כֵּן | ken} ‘thus’ establishes the simile relating Pharaoh melekh-mitsrayim {מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַיִם | me·le·k-miṣ·rā·yim} as equally unreliable to those who trust in him. This structure emphasizes both the fragility of Egypt and the folly of political dependency. |