| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the prohibitive particle lo {לֹא | lō} combined with the Qal imperfect toʾakhal {תֹאכַל | tô·ʾa·ḵal} ‘you shall eat’, establishing the ritual boundary. The prepositional phrase ʿalav {עָלָיו | ʿā·lāv} ‘upon it’ attaches both prohibition and command to the Passover offering. A chiastic pattern links the negative and affirmative clauses through toʾakhal–ʿalav ‘eat upon it’, contrasting ḥametz {חָמֵץ | ḥā·mêṣ} ‘leavened bread’ with maẓōt {מַצּוֹת | maẓ·ṣōṯ} ‘unleavened breads’. The construct lechem ʿō·nî {לֶחֶם עֹנִי | le·ḥem ʿō·nî} ‘bread of affliction’ underscores the memorial of hardship. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} introduces the historical motive, marked by the preposition bechipazon {בְחִפָּזוֹן | bə·ḥip·pā·zōn} ‘in haste’. The purpose clause lemaʿan {לְמַעַן | lə·ma·ʿan} governs tizkor {תִּזְכֹּר | ti·zkōr} ‘you will remember’, with et-yom {אֶת־יוֹם | ʾet-yōm} as direct object ‘the day’. The repetition of meʾerets Miṣrayim {מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם | mê·ʾe·reṣ miṣ·rā·yim} ‘from the land of Egypt’ and the temporal phrase kol yemei chayyecha {כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ | kôl ye·mê ḥay·ye·ḵā} ‘all the days of your life’ extends remembrance across the lifetime, creating a solemn liturgical rhythm. |