| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the causal conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} ‘for,’ linking this clause to the preceding context. The adverb gam {גַּם־ | gam} ‘even’ intensifies the subject. The nominal phrase gam ayelet {גַּם־ אַיֶּלֶת | gam ʾayyeleṯ} ‘even the hind’ functions as the subject of the Qal perfect yaldah {יָלְדָה | yāləḏāh} ‘gave birth.’ The prepositional phrase basadeh {בַשָּׂדֶה | baśśāḏeh} ‘in the field’ marks the location. The perfect verb is immediately followed by the infinitive construct veazov {וְעָזֹב | vəʿāzōḇ} ‘and forsook,’ forming a paratactic sequence of consecutive actions. The second ki {כִּי | kî} introduces the result clause, where lo-hayah {לֹא־הָיָה | lō-hāyāh} ‘there was not’ predicates the absence of deshe {דֶּשֶׁא | dešeʾ} ‘grass,’ explaining the cause of abandonment. |