| 45. Linguistic Exegesis The construct chain benei nekar {בְּנֵי נֵכָ֖ר | bə-nē nē-khar} identifies non-Israelite peoples. The Hitpael stem yitkachashu {יִתְכַּֽחֲשׁוּ | yit-ka-ḥa-šû} conveys reflexive feigned action, with li {לִ֑י | lî} marking the target. The idiom lishmoa ozen {לִשְׁמ֥וֹעַ אֹ֖זֶן | liš-mō-ʿaʿ ’ō-zen} ‘at the sound of the ear’ uses an infinitive construct plus noun to signal immediacy of response. The parallel verbs yitkachashu… yishshamenu {יִתְכַּֽחֲשׁוּ… יִשָּׁ֥מְעוּ | yit-ka-ḥa-šû… yiš-šā-mə-ʾû} form a chiastic contrast between false and actual submission. |