| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the direct object marker et {אֶת | ʾet} ‘direct object marker’, highlighting ha-nokhri {הַנָּכְרִי | ha-nā-ḵ-rî} ‘foreigner’ as the object. The Qal imperfect tiggosh {תִּגֹּשׂ | ṭig-gôš} expresses permission to demand payment. The conjunctive-relative va-asher {וַאֲשֶׁר | va-ʾă-šer} introduces the clause “that which will be to you,” where yihyeh {יִהְיֶה | yih-yêh} ‘will be’ and the prepositional phrase lekha {לְךָ | lə-khā} ‘to you’ specify what is owed. The second et {אֶת | ʾet} marks achikha {אָחִיךָ | ʾă-kî-ḵā} ‘your brother’ as object of the Hiphil imperfect tashmet {תַּשְׁמֵט | ṭaš-mêṭ} ‘you shall release.’ The construct noun yadekha {יָדֶךָ | yā-de-ḵā} ‘your hand’ denotes personal agency. This parallel object-verb structure contrasts legal permission regarding the outsider with mandated release within the community, and the shift to SVO in English clarifies these contrasting commands. |