| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the prepositional phrase el-sadeh tov el-mayim rabbim {אֶל־שָׂ֥דֶה טּ֛וֹב אֶל־מַ֥יִם רַבִּ֖ים | ʾel-sā-deh ṭōv ʾel-ma-yim ra-ḇim} ‘to a good field and to abundant waters,’ which establishes an irrigated planting context. The feminine pronoun hi {הִ֣יא | hî} ‘she/it’ resumes the referent (the vine), followed by the participle shetulah {שְׁתוּלָ֑ה | šə-tū-lāh} ‘planted,’ indicating its state. The coordinated infinitives laasot anaf ve-laset peri {לַעֲשׂ֤וֹת עָנָף֙ וְלָשֵׂ֣את פֶּ֔רִי | la-ʿă-śôt ʿā-nāph wə-lā-śēṯ pê-rî} ‘to produce a branch and to bear fruit’ function as successive purpose clauses. The final clause lihyot le-gefen addaret {לִהְי֖וֹת לְגֶ֥פֶן אַדָּֽרֶת | lî-hə-yôt lə-ge-phen ʾad-dā-reṯ} ‘to be a noble vine’ defines the vine’s intended destiny. The Hebrew’s chain of infinitives, linked by vav, conveys a teleological sequence that English renders with parallel infinitival and subordinating constructions to preserve the verse’s goal-oriented flow. |