| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the wayyiqtol form vayyamoddu {וַיָּמֹדּוּ | way-yā-mōd-dû} “and they measured,” which links to the preceding manna narrative. The prepositional phrase baomer {בָּעֹמֶר | bā-ʿō-mer} “by the omer” specifies the fixed measure. Two antithetic clauses follow, each introduced by velo {וְלֹא | wə-lōʾ} “and not.” In the first, hamarbeh {הַמַּרְבֶּה | ham-mar-beh} “the gatherer of much” is the subject with the perfect heedif {הֶעְדִּיף | heʿ-dîp̄} “had surplus,” and in the second vehamamit {וְהַמַּמְעִ֖יט | wə-ham-mam-ʿîṭ} “and the gatherer of little” pairs with hechsir {הֶחְסִיר | heḥ-sîr} “lacked.” These participles act substantivally to convey balanced provision. The final clause ish lefi-akhlo lakatu {אִישׁ לְפִי־אָכְל֖וֹ לָקָֽטוּ | ʾîš lə-pî-ʾā-ḵ-lô lā-qā-ṭû} “each man gathered according to his eating” uses the idiom lefi + noun construct for personalized sufficiency. |