| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with emphatic reduplication of tzedek {צֶדֶק | ṣē-dēq} ‘justice’, intensifying the ethical demand. The qal imperfect tirdof {תִּרְדֹּף | tir-dôp̄} ‘you shall pursue’ conveys ongoing action toward this goal. The prepositional phrase lema‘an {לְמַעַן | lə-maʿ-ăn} introduces the result clause with the subsequent qal imperfect tichyeh {תִּֽחְיֶה | ti-ḥyē} ‘you may live’. This is followed by a vav-consecutive in veyarashta {וְיָרַשְׁתָּ | wə-yā-rāš-tā} plus the perfect stem to express consequence: ‘and you shall possess’. The direct object marker et {אֶת־ | ʾet} flags ha’aretz {הָאָרֶץ | hā-ʾā-reṣ} ‘the land’, which is defined by the relative clause asher-Yahweh Eloheicha {אֲשֶׁר־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ | ă-šer-Yahweh ʾĕ-lō-hê-ḵā}, culminating in the participle noten {נוֹתֵן | nō-tēn} ‘giving’, indicating continuous divine agency. Fronting the ethical imperative before the covenantal promise creates a chiastic movement from obligation to reward, while the paired “justice, justice” functions as a merism that frames the comprehensive scope of the law’s ethical demands. |