| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the interrogative mahtʼomri {מַה־תֹּאמְרִי֙ | māh-tõ-ʾem-rî} ‘what will you say’ framing a rhetorical question. The conjunction-verb ki-yipqōḏ {כִּי־יִפְקֹד | kî-yip-qō-ḏ} ‘when he will visit’ introduces a temporal clause with an imperfect verb expressing certain future divine action. The phrase we’at limmadet otam alayikh allufim {וְאַתְּ לִמַּדְתְּ אֹתָם עָלַיִךְ אַלֻּפִים | wə-ʾat lim-maḏ-tə ʾō-ṯām ʿā-layiḵ ʾal-lu-phîm} ‘and you have taught them as chiefs over you’ employs the Piel perfect to highlight deliberate training. The particle halo’ {הֲל֤וֹא | ha-lōʾ} ‘is it not’ marks the shift to the comparative clause. The noun chavalim {חֲבָלִים | ḥa-ḇā-lîm} ‘birth pangs’ with the imperfect yohezuk {יֹאחֱז֔וּךְ | yō-ḥe-zu-ḵ} ‘they will seize you’ forms a vivid metaphor of involuntary distress. The simile kemo eshet ledah {כְּמוֹ אֵשֶׁת לֵדָה | kə-mō ʾē-šeṯ lē-ḏāh} ‘like a woman in labor’ completes the image. The chiastic pairing of divine visitation and the birth-pang metaphor underscores the inevitability and intensity of judgment. |