| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The passive form yeazvu {יֵעָזְבוּ | yē-ʿā-zvū} ‘they shall be left’ introduces an agentless clause highlighting judgment. The adverbial particle yachdav {יַחְדָּו | yaḥ-dāw} ‘together’ reinforces collective fate. The prepositional pairs leʿēt hārîm {לְעֵיט הָרִים | lə-ʿēṯ hā-rîm} ‘to the bird of prey of the mountains’ and ū-le-vĕhē-māṯ hā-ʾāreṣ {וּלְבֶהֱמַת הָאָרֶץ | ū-lə-ḇe-hē-māṯ hā-ʾā-reṣ} ‘and to the beast of the land’ form a merismus encompassing all carrion creatures. The verbs və-qāṣ {וְקָץ | və-qāṣ} ‘and will spend the summer’ and tə-ḥe-rāp̄ {תֶּחֱרָף | tə-ḥe-rāp̄} ‘shall spend the winter’ bracket the annual cycle, with the suffix ʿālāv {עָלָיו | ʿā-lāv} ‘upon them’ repeated to link both actions. English renders the Hebrew vav-imperfect as future to preserve temporal aspect, and the clause-initial passive foregrounds the victims’ desolation. |