| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The clause begins with the independent pronoun anokhi {אָנֹכִי | ʾā-nō-ḵî} ‘I,’ which is not required for verb agreement and therefore gives strong emphasis to the speaker, highlighting divine initiative in the covenant relationship. The Qal perfect yedatikha {יְדַעְתִּיךָ | yə-daʿ-tî-ḵā} ‘knew you’ carries relational knowledge with ongoing covenant implications. The parallel prepositional phrases bamidbar {בַּמִּדְבָּר | ba-mid-bār} ‘in the wilderness’ and beerets talavot {בְּאֶרֶץ תַּלְאָבוֹת | bə-ʾe-reṣ tal-ʾā-ḇôṯ} ‘in a land of parched hardships’ intensify the harsh setting. English preserves the sequence of “in…” phrases to mirror the Hebrew stacking and maintain the focus on God’s attentive knowledge amid hardship. |