| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the infinitive absolute nabol {נָבֹ֣ל | nāvōl} followed by the imperfect tibbol {תִּבֹּ֔ל | tibbōl}, an intensifying construction indicating certitude of exhaustion for both Moses and the group. The paired adverbial phrases gam attah, gam haam {גַּם־אַתָּה, גַּם־הָעָם | gam ʾat-tāh, gam hā-ʿām} link the leader and the people in shared experience. The relative clause hazzeh asher immakh {הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר עִמָּךְ | haz-zeh ʾăšer ʿim-mākh} specifies “these people who are with you.” The conjunction ki {כִּֽי | kî} introduces a causal clause with kaved mimmekha hadavar {כָבֵד מִמְּךָ הַדָּבָר | kāvēd mim-məkhā had-dāvar}, where the adjective kaved takes a prepositional phrase indicating that the case lies beyond Moses’ capacity. The negative ability clause lo-tukhal asohu {לֹא־תוּכַ֥ל עֲשֹׂהוּ | lōʾ-tūkhal ʿăsōhû} negates Moses’ capability, and the final levadekha {לְבַדֶּךָ | ləvad-dekhā} underscores isolating strain. English word order and idioms (“exceeds what you can bear”) are chosen to preserve the structural emphasis and cumulative buildup of burden. |