| 22. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive perfect of shafṭû {שָׁפְט֣וּ | wə-šāp̄-ṭû} ‘and they shall judge’, prescribing ongoing judicial oversight. The fronted prepositional phrase bə-ḵāl-ʿēt {בְּכָל־עֵת | bə-ḵāl-ʿēt} ‘at every time’ emphasizes continuous availability. The result clause introduced by wə-hā-yāh {וְהָיָ֞ה | wə-hā-yāh} ‘and it shall be’ establishes a contrastive merism between every great matter and every small matter. The concluding paratactic sequence of v’hakel {וְהָקֵל | wə-hā-qēl} ‘and it will be easier’ followed by v’nas’u {וְנָשְׂא֖וּ | wə-nā-śə-ʾû} ‘and they shall bear’ shifts from relief to shared responsibility. This structure is rendered through parallel clauses and clear sentence breaks to reflect the Hebrew emphasis and flow. |