| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the conditional marker ve-im {וְאִם | wə-ʾim} ‘if’, followed by the infinitive construct amor {אָמֹר | ʾā-môr} ‘to say’ as an intensifier before the imperfect yōmar {יֹאמַר | yō-mār} ‘he will say’, which introduces the servant’s conditional declaration. The triple et {אֶת | ʾet} ‘direct object marker’ before master, wife, and children emphasizes each personal attachment. The final clause lo etse {לֹא אֵצֵא | lō ʾē-ṣēʾ} ‘I will not go out’ with chofshi {חָפְשִׁי | ḥā-p̄ə-šī} ‘free’ expresses the servant’s deliberate refusal of emancipation, preserving the Hebrew’s protasis–apodosis structure to highlight voluntary loyalty over legal release. |