| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The opening ve-hayah {וְהָיָה | wə-hā-yāh} ‘and it will be’ employs the vav-consecutive Qal perfect to introduce a prophetic future. The temporal frame ba-yom ha-hû {בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא | ba-yôm ha-hû} ‘in that day’ sets the timeframe. The imperfect yi-ddāl {יִדַּל | yi-ḏāl} ‘will become thin’ predicates diminution of kə-bōd {כְּבוֹד | kə-bōd} ‘glory,’ metaphorically denoting honor. The proper name Ya-ʿă-qōv {יַעֲקֹב | Ya-ʿă-qōv} identifies Israel by its progenitor. The construct phrase u-miš-man bə-sā-rō {וּמִשְׁמַן בְּשָׂרוֹ | u-miš-man bə-sā-rō} ‘and from the fatness of his flesh’ expresses abundance and vigor. The successive imperfect yē-rā-ʿe-ẖ {יֵרָזֶה | yē-rā-ʿe-ẖ} ‘will waste away’ underscores decline. Hebrew parallelism contrasts external honor with internal vitality, and the English rendering preserves this semantic tension. |