| 19. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with ve-atah {וְאַתָּה | wə-ʾat-tāh} as a direct address, followed by the vocative ben-adam {בֶן־אָדָם | ben-ʾāḏām} “Son of Man,” which frames the instructions as a commanded sign-act to the prophet. The first imperative sim-lekha {שִׂים־לְךָ | śîm-ləḵā} governs a concrete object, shenayim derakhim {שְׁנַיִם דְּרָכִים | šənáyim dərāḵîm} “two ways,” and is then extended by the purpose infinitive lavo {לָבוֹא | lāvōʾ} “to come,” specifying the intended movement of cherev {חֶרֶב | ḥerev} “sword,” a metonym for the military strike associated with melech-bavel {מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל | meleḵ-bāvel}. The clause me-erets echad {מֵאֶרֶץ אֶחָד | mēʾereṣ ʾeḥāḏ} is fronted before the verb yetse'u {יֵצְאוּ | yēṣəʾû}, highlighting a single point of origin; the subject shenehem {שְׁנֵיהֶם | šənêhem} “both of them” clarifies that the two routes share that origin. The second half begins with ve-yad {וְיָד | wə-yāḏ}, using “hand” in the sense of a roadside indicator, and pairs it with a doubled imperative bara … bara {בָּרֵא … בָּרֵא | bā-rēʾ … bā-rēʾ} to stress deliberate selection: first the marker is chosen, then its placement is chosen. The prepositional phrase be-rosh {בְּרֹאשׁ | bə-rōʾš} “at the head” and the construct derekh-ir {דֶּרֶךְ־עִיר | dereḵ-ʿîr} “road of/to a city” specify the strategic point where the marker must stand, keeping the Hebrew’s step-by-step mapping logic in clear English. |