| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with a conditional protasis introduced by vekhi-yirbeh {וְכִֽי־יִרְבֶּ֨ה | wə-kî-yir-béh} ‘and if it becomes too much’, setting a hypothetical scenario. This is followed by a personal limitation in the prepositional phrase mimekha ha-de-rekh {מִמְּךָ֜ הַדֶּ֗רֶךְ | mi-me-kha ha-de-rekh} ‘for you the way’. The causal conjunction ki {כִּ֣י | kî} then leads into the inability clause lo tukhal se-e-to {לֹ֣א תוּכַל֘ שְׂאֵתוֹ֒ | lō tû-khal sə-’ê-to} ‘that you cannot carry it’. A second causal ki-yir-ḥaq {כִּֽי־יִרְחַק | kî-yir-ḥaq} ‘because it is distant’ links the task’s impracticality to the distance expressed by mimekha ha-ma-qom {מִמְּךָ֙ הַמָּקוֹם | mi-me-kha ha-mā-qôm} ‘from you the place’. The relative clause ’ă-sher yiv-ḥar Yahweh Elohekha lā-sum šə-mô šām {אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִבְחַר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לָשׂ֥וּם שְׁמ֖וֹ שָׁ֑ם | ’ă-sher yiv-ḥar Yə-hō-wāh ’ĕ-lō-hê-khā lā-sûm šə-mô šām} ‘which the LORD your God chooses to put his name there’ emphasizes divine selection of a sacred site. Finally, the concluding clause ki yəvārəkhā Yahweh Elohekha {כִּ֥י יְבָרֶכְךָ֖ יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ | kî yə-vā-rə-ḵā Yə-hō-wāh ’ĕ-lō-hê-khā} ‘since the LORD your God blesses you’ provides the theological rationale, linking abundance to the worship requirement. This sequence of conditional and causal clauses underscores both human limitation and divine provision in framing the worship directive. |