| 32. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with an apposition of ha’ishah {הָאִשָּׁ֖ה | hā-’iš-šāh} ‘the woman’ and the participle hammena’efet {הַמְּנָאָ֑פֶת | ham-mə-na-’e-feṯ} ‘adulteress,’ defining her moral identity. The preposition tachat {תַּ֣חַת | ṯa-ḥaṯ} ‘instead of’ plus the pronominal suffix on ’ishah {אִישָׁ֔הּ | ’îš-šāh} ‘husband’ introduces a substitution contrast. The Qal imperfect verb tiqqaḥ {תִּקַּ֖ח | tiq-qaḥ} conveys continuous, habitual action. The accusative marker ’et {אֶת־ | ’eṯ} marks zarim {זָרִים | zā-rîm} ‘strangers’ as the direct object. Because Hebrew lacks a copular verb here, English adds “You are” to supply the implied predicate and connect the description to the addressee. The relative clause structure in English preserves the ongoing nature of her betrayal. |