| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the relative particle asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾă-šer} ‘that,’ linking this clause to the preceding lament. The compound negation lo-motetani {לֹא־מוֹתְתַ֖נִי | lō-mō-tət-a-nî} frames an unrealized act of death. Me-rechem {מֵרָ֑חֶם | mê-rā-ḥem} ‘from womb’ specifies the origin avoided. The vav-prefixed verb va-tehili {וַתְּהִי־לִ֤י | wa-tə-hî-lî} ‘and she became for me’ introduces a parallel clause rendered idiomatically in English. The phrase immi kivri {אִמִּי֙ קִבְרִי֔ | ʾim-mî qib-rî} ‘my mother my grave’ uses parataxis to convey metaphorical burial. The final coordinated phrase ve-rachmah harat olam {וְרַחְמָ֖ה הֲרַ֥ת עוֹלָֽם | wə-raḥ-māh ha-raṯ ʿō-lām} heightens the lament through hyperbole, depicting unending gestation. This sequence of relative linkage and vav-prefixed clauses intensifies the speaker’s expression of despair. |