| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The prophecy opens with the temporal shift marker ve-attah {וְעַתָּה | və-ʿaṯ-ṭāh} ‘and now,’ setting an imminent oracle. Dīber {דִּבֶּר | dib-bēr}, a Piel perfect third person masculine singular verb, frames the completed act of divine speech, followed by the infinitive construct le-ʾemor {לֵאמֹר | lê-ʾā-môr} ‘to say’ that introduces direct discourse. The phrase bə-šālōš šā-nîm {בְּשָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים | bə-šā-lōš šā-nîm} ‘within three years’ combines a prepositional phrase and a numeral. A metaphorical comparison in ki-šnê śā-kîr {כִּשְׁנֵי שָׂכִיר | ki-šnê śā-kîr} ‘as the years of a hired worker’ uses the comparative prefix and construct dual. The passive result is marked by the Niphal perfect wə-niklā {וְנִקְלָה | wə-nik-lā} ‘will be despised,’ targeting kə-vōḏ Mō-ʾāḇ {כְּבוֹד מוֹאָב | kə-vōḏ mō-ʾāḇ} ‘the glory of Moab.’ The scope intensifies in the prepositional clause bə-kōl he-hā-môn hā-rāḇ {בְּכֹל הֶהָמוֹן הָרָב | bə-kōl he-hā-môn hā-rāḇ} ‘among all that great multitude.’ The final clause ū-še-ʾār mə-ʿaṭ miz-ʿār lō kā-ḇîr {וּשְׁאָ֥ר מְעַט מִזְעָ֖ר לֹא כַבִּיר | ū-še-ʾār mə-ʿaṭ miz-ʿār lō kā-ḇîr} ‘and the remnant will be few, very small, not mighty’ stacks diminutives and negation to heighten the sense of utter reduction. The English rendering preserves the Hebrew’s swift progression from temporal marker through metaphor to climactic contrast. |