| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive Hiphil perfect vehaakhaltim {וְהַֽאֲכַלְתִּ֞ים | wə-ha-ʾă-ḵal-tîm} ‘and I will make them eat’, foregrounding divine causation. The direct object markers et {אֶת | ʾet} and veet {וְאֵת | wə-ʾet} introduce the construct nouns bneihem {בְּנֵיהֶם | bə-nê-hem} ‘their sons’ and benoteihem {בְּנֹתֵיהֶם | bə-nō-ṯê-hem} ‘their daughters’ as recipients of flesh {בְּשַׂר | bə-śar} ‘flesh’. The phrase veish {וְאִישׁ | wə-ʾîš} ‘and each man’, with the compound noun besar-re’ehu {בְּשַׂר־רֵעֵהוּ | bə-śar–rê-‘e-hu} ‘flesh of his friend’ and the verb yokhelu {יֹאכֵלוּ | yō-ḵê-lû} ‘they will eat’, extends the atrocity to personal relations. The locative phrases bmatzor {בְּמָצוֹר | bə-mā-ṣōr} ‘in the siege’ and uvmatzok {וּבְמָצוֹק | û-və-mā-ṣōq} ‘and in the distress’ set the scene of severe pressure. The relative asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾă-šer} links to the Hiphil imperfect yatziku {יָצִיקוּ | yā-ṣî-qû} ‘they will oppress’, identifying oyeveihem {אֹיְבֵיהֶם | ʾō-yə-ḇê-hem} ‘their enemies’ and umevakshei nafsham {וּמְבַקְשֵׁי נַפְשָׁם | û-mə-ḇaq-šê nap̄-šām} ‘those seeking their lives’ as agents of infliction. The parallel structure and repeated flesh constructs intensify the depiction of siege-induced cannibalism. |