| 19. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the second-person plural address va'amartem {וַאֲמַרְתֶּם | wa-ʾă-mar-tem} 'and you say', introducing a rhetorical objection. The interrogative particle mǎddûaʿ {מַדֻּעַ | maḏ-dû-ʿa} 'why?' frames the complaint lo-nāśāʾ habbēn baʿăvôn hā-ʾāv {לֹא־נָשָׂא הַבֵּן בַּעֲוֺן הָאָב | lōʾ-nā-śāʾ hab-bēn ba-ʿă-vōn hā-ʾāv} 'does not the son bear the iniquity of the father?' The clause wə-hab-bēn miš-pāṭ û-ṣə-dā-qāh ʿā-śāh {וְהַבֵּן מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה עָשָׂה | wə-hab-bēn miš-pāṭ û-ṣə-dā-qāh ʿā-śāh} 'and the son does justice and righteousness' establishes the condition for individual accountability. The construct chain kol-ḥuq-qō-tāy {כָּל־חֻקּוֹתַי | kol-ḥuq-qō-tāy} 'all my statutes' ties obedience directly to life. The pairing of the infinitive absolute ḥā-yō {חָיֹה | ḥā-yō} with the imperfect yiḥ-yēh {יִחְיֶה | yiḥ-yēh} intensifies the future certainty 'he shall surely live'. The chiastic contrast between assumed collective guilt and covenantal individual responsibility underpins the theological force of the verse. |