| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the prepositional phrase baneshekh {בַּנֶּשֶׁךְ | bannešeḵ} ‘with interest,’ framing the financial accusation conveyed by natan and vetarbit lakakh. The vav-consecutive in vakhai {וָחָי | wāḥāy} ‘and he lived’ introduces a rhetorical question, highlighting the incongruity of life after usurious gain. The negated imperfect lo yikhyeh {לֹא יִחְיֶה | lōʾ yiḥyēh} ‘he shall not live’ delivers a declarative verdict. The infinitive absolute mot {מוֹת | mōṯ} ‘dying,’ paired with the imperfect yumat {יוּמָת | yūmâṯ}, intensifies the certainty of death. Finally, the phrase damav bo yihyeh {דָּמָיו בּוֹ יִהְיֶה | dāmāw bō yihyeh} attributes the outcome to personal guilt, with damav syntactically serving as the subject of the concluding verb. |