| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The causal conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} ‘because’ introduces the reason for divine neglect. The perfect verbs shakhakhat {שָׁכַחַתְּ | šāḵaḥt} ‘you have forgotten’ and zakhart {זָכַרְתְּ | zākhārt} ‘you have remembered’ form a contrastive parallelism addressing the addressee. The construct chains Elohei yishʿekh {אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׁעֵךְ | ʾĕlōhê yišʿēḵ} ‘God of your salvation’ and tzur maʿuzzekh {צור מָעֻזֵּךְ | ṣūr māʿûzēḵ} ‘Rock of your refuge’ depict dual divine roles. The result clause is marked by al-ken {עַל־כֵּן | ʿal-kēn} ‘therefore’. The imperfect verbs tittaʿî {תִּטְּעִי | tiṭṭaʿî} ‘you plant’ and tizrāʿennû {תִּזְרָעֶנּוּ | tizrāʿennû} ‘you sow it’ denote ongoing cultivation. The noun phrases nitʿê naʿămānîm {נִטְעֵי נַעֲמָנִים | niṭʿê naʿămānîm} ‘plantings of pleasant plants’ and u-zmōraṯ zār {וּזְמֹרַת זָר | u-zmōraṯ zār} ‘and a foreign shoot’ highlight idolatrous imagery. The parallel structure underscores the theological link between forgetting God and engaging in idolatry. |