| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with velo {וְלֹא | wə-lōʾ} ‘and not’ joined to the imperfect yishʿeh {יִשְׁעֶה | yišʿêh} ‘regard’ to form a negative refusal construction. The preposition el {אֶל־ | ʾel} ‘to’ governs the direct object ha-mizbechot {הַמִּזְבְּחוֹת | ham-mizbeḥōt} ‘the altars,’ indicating directional rejection. The construct chain maʿaseh yadav {מַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו | maʿăśēh yāḏāyw} ‘work of his hands’ highlights human agency, further specified by the relative clause vaʿasher asu etzbaʿotav {וַאֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ אֶצְבְּעֹתָיו | wa-ʾăšer ʿāśû ʾeṣbəʿôtāyw} ‘that they made, his fingers.’ The second negation lo yirʾeh {לֹא יִרְאֶה | lōʾ yirʾeh} ‘will not see’ intensifies the rejection before enumerating veha-asherim {וְהָאֲשֵׁרִים | we-hā-ʾăšerim} ‘the Asherah poles’ and veha-chammanim {וְהָחַמָּנִים | we-hā-ḥammānim} ‘the sun-pillars.’ Parallel negatives and relative clauses underscore a comprehensive denial of human-crafted religious symbols. |