| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The verse is structured as a protasis–apodosis pair. The protasis is introduced by the subordinate temporal conditional vechiteshallehenu {וְכִֽי־תְשַׁלְּחֶ֥נּוּ | wə-ḵî tə-šal-le-ḥê-nû} ‘and when you send him away’, followed by the adverbial condition khofshi {חָפְשִׁ֖י | ḥā-p̄e-šî} ‘free’ and the localized phrase meimmakh {מֵֽעִמָּ֑ךְ | mē-ʿim-mā-ḵ} ‘from with you’, anchoring agency to the master. The apodosis employs the prohibition lōʾ teshallchenu reikam {לֹ֥א תְשַׁלְּחֶ֖נּוּ רֵיקָֽם | lōʾ tə-šal-le-ḥê-nû rē-qâm} ‘you shall not send him away empty’, repeating the verb to reinforce the legal command. This chiastic repetition around opposing adverbs (khofshi vs reikam) underscores the moral imperative to ensure provision when granting freedom. |