| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with a legal directive framed by a vav-consecutive sequence: usekalto {וּסְקַלְתּוֹ | wə-sə-qāl-tō} ‘and you shall stone him’ coupled with vamet {וָמֵת | wā-mēt} ‘and he shall die’. The instrument of execution is specified by ba’avanim {בָּאֲבָנִים | bā-’a-vā-nîm} ‘with stones’. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} ‘because’ introduces the causal clause of subversion, where bikesh {בִּקֵּשׁ | bî-qēš} ‘he sought’ and the infinitive lehadikha {לְהַדִּיחֲךָ | lə-had-dî-aḥ-kā} ‘to turn you aside’ form the charge of religious betrayal. The phrase me’al Yahweh eloheikha {מֵעַל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ | mê-ʿal Yəhōwāh ʾĕ-lō-hê-kā} ‘from upon the LORD your God’ highlights the covenant relationship under threat, defined by the relative participle hamotsi’akha {הַמּוֹצִיאֲךָ | ham-mō-ṣî-’ă-kā} ‘who brought you out’. Two construct chains, me’eretz Mitzrayim {מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם | mê-’e-reṣ Mitz-rā-yim} ‘from the land of Egypt’ and mi-beit avadim {מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים | mib-bêt ʿă-vā-dim} ‘from the house of slaves’, underscore divine deliverance as foundational to covenant identity. The translation preserves the causal and legal structure to maintain the verse’s authoritative tone. |