| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs a triadic sequence of vav-consecutive perfect verbs—veravtzu-sham {וְרָבְצוּ־שָׁם | wə-rā-ḇə-ṣû-šām} ‘and they will lie down there’, umal’u {וּמָלְאוּ | u-mā-lə-ʾû} ‘and they will fill’, and veshakhnu {וְשָׁכְנוּ | wə-šā-ḵə-nû} ‘and they will dwell’—each followed by the locative sham {שָׁם | šām} reinforcing a desolate setting. The noun tziyim {צִיִּים | ṣî-yîm} ‘wild creatures’ and ochim {אֹחִים | ō-ḥîm} ‘shrieking creatures’ create a vivid merism. The plural construct bnot ya’anah {בְּנוֹת יַעֲנָה | bə-nô-ṯ ya-ʿă-nāh} ‘daughters of ostrich’ denotes ostriches, while useirim {וּשְׂעִירִים | u-śə-ʿî-rîm} ‘satyrs’ introduces mythic imagery. The final imperfect yerakkedu-sham {יְרַקְּדוּ־שָׁם | yə-raq-ḵə-dû-šām} ‘and they will dance there’ adds dynamic movement. The parallelism and repetition mirror the prophecy’s poetic structure and emphasize the ruined desolation. |