| 35. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew verse presents a Piel participle melammed {מְלַמֵּד | mə-lam-mēḏ} ‘he trains’ as the main verb, followed by the object yaday {יָדַי | yā-ḏay} ‘my hands’ with a purpose phrase lamilchamah {לַמִּלְחָמָה | la-mil-ḥā-māh} ‘for battle’. A vav-conjunction introduces a result clause marked by the Niphal perfect wenichat {וְנִחַת | wə-ni-ḥaṯ} ‘is bent’, in which the construct keshet-nechushah {קֶשֶׁת־נְחוּשָׁה | ke-śeṯ-nə-ḥū-šāh} ‘bow of bronze’ receives the action, and the pronominal suffix in zerootai {זְרֹעֹתָי | zə-rō-ʿō-ṯāy} ‘my arms’ functions as the agent. This structure creates a causal relationship: divine instruction leads to martial capability. In the formal translation, the Niphal perfect is rendered in passive voice, preserving the Hebrew impersonal aspect, whereas in the dynamic translation it appears as a potential ability in active voice to reflect the resulting strength. |