| 16. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the perfect verb dān {דָּן | dān} “he judged,” followed by the construct chain dīn-ʿānî {דִּן־עָנִי | dīn-ʿānî} “cause of the poor,” expanded by the coordination wə-ʾev-yōn {וְאֶבְיוֹן | wə-ʾev-yōn} “and needy,” spotlighting vulnerable groups. The adverb ʾāz {אָז | ʾāz} introduces the resultant clause with ṭôḇ {טוֹב | ṭôḇ} “it was good,” summarizing the outcome of just action. The interrogative haloʾ-hî {הֲלוֹא־הִיא | hă-lōʾ-hî} leads into a rhetorical question framing practical knowing of God through ethical behavior, with ha-d-da-ʿaṯ {הַדַּעַת | ha-d-da-ʿaṯ} “the knowledge” and the object suffix ʾō-ṯî {אֹתִי | ʾō-ṯî} “me.” The prophetic signature ne-ʾum Yahweh {נְאֻם־יְהוָה | nə-ʾum Yahweh} asserts divine authority. The English rendition retains Hebrew clause structure and rhetorical movement from legal judgment to relational knowledge. |