| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the narrative future vehayah {וְהָיָ֞ה | wə-hā-yāh} ‘and he will be’, establishing an ongoing state. The simile ke‘ets {כְּעֵ֣ץ | kə-ʿēṣ} ‘like a tree’ is developed by the passive participle shatul {שָׁת֣וּל | šā-ṯūl} ‘planted’, emphasizing fixed placement. The parallel locatives al-mayim {עַל־מַ֗יִם | ʿal-mayim} ‘beside waters’ and ve-al-yuval {וְעַל־יוּבַל֙ | wə-ʿal-yū-ḇāl} ‘and beside a stream’ intensify the imagery of nourishment. The imperfect yishallach {יְשַׁלַ֣ח | yə-šal-lach} ‘he sends forth’ conveys continuous growth. The negation velo yir’eh {וְלֹ֤א יִרְאֶה֙ | wə-lōʾ yir-ʾeh} ‘and does not fear’ coupled with the temporal clause ki-yavo chom {כִּֽי־יָ֣בֹא חֹ֔ם | kî-yā-ḇō ḥōm} ‘when heat comes’ introduces adversity. The second vehayah clause marks resilience, with alehu ra‘anan {עָלֵ֖הוּ רַֽעֲנָ֑ן | ʿā-lē-hū ra-ʿă-nān} ‘its leaf fresh’ highlighting vitality. The temporal phrase u-vishnat batzoret {וּבִשְׁנַ֤ת בַּצֹּ֙רֶת֙ | ū-viš-naṯ ba-ṣō-reṯ} ‘and in the year of drought’ sets the scene, and the consecutive negatives lo yida’ag {לֹ֣א יִדְאָ֔ג | lōʾ yid-ʾāg} and ve-lo yamish {וְלֹ֥א יָמִ֖ישׁ | wə-lōʾ yā-mîš} frame an ongoing refusal to slacken, culminating in the infinitive me-asot peri {מֵעֲשׂ֥וֹת פֶּֽרִי | mē-ʿă-sōṯ pē-rî} ‘from producing fruit’, rendered idiomatically as “ceasing to yield fruit.” The verse’s parallelism and repetition underscore steadfast resilience and prosperity. |