| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The universal pronouncement begins with the emphatic repetition ish ish {אִישׁ אִישׁ | ʾîš ʾîš} ‘any man, each one’ followed by a construct phrase mi-beit Yisraʾel {מִבֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵל | mi-bêyt Yiś-rā-ʾêl} ‘from the house of Israel’ and its parallel u-me-ha-ger asher-yā-gur be-Yisraʾel {וּמֵהַגֵּר אֲשֶׁר־יָג֣וּר בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל | u-me-ha-gêr ʾă-šer-yā-gûr bə-Yiś-rā-ʾêl} ‘and from the sojourner who sojourns in Israel.’ The verbs ve-yin-nā-zêr {וְיִנָּזֵ֣ר | wə-yin-nā-zêr} ‘separates himself’ (Nifal imperfect) and na-ʿă-neh-lô {נַֽעֲנֶה־לּ֖וֹ | na-ʿă-neh-lô} ‘I will answer him’ (Nifal imperfect) frame divine reciprocity. The Hifil ve-ya-ʿal {וְיַ֤עַל | wə-ya-ʿal} ‘raises up’ intensifies the active internalization of idolatry. The construct chains gil-lu-lāv ʾel-lib-bô {גִּלּוּלָיו אֶל־לִבּוֹ | gil-lu-lāv ʾel-lib-bô} ‘his idols to his heart’ and u-mikh-šôl ʿa-vō-nô yā-šîm no-khaḥ pā-nāv {וּמִכְשׁוֹל עֲוֺנוֹ יָשִׂים נֹכַח פָּנָיו | u-mikh-šôl ʿa-vō-nô yā-šîm no-khaḥ pā-nāv} ‘the stumbling block of his iniquity he puts before his face’ use vivid imagery. The sequence li-draš-lô bî {לִדְרָשׁ־לוֹ בִּ֔י | li-draš-lô bî} ‘to inquire for himself in me’ highlights false piety, and the final cluster ʾă-nî Yahweh na-ʿă-neh-lô bî {אֲנִי יְהוָה נַֽעֲנֶה־לּ֖וֹ בִּֽי | ʾă-nî Yəhōwāh na-ʿă-neh-lô bî} asserts divine self-involvement. |