| 27. Linguistic Exegesis The initial prepositional clause ve’al ha’aretz {וְעַל־הָאָרֶץ | wə-ʿal hā-ʾā-reṣ} ‘but concerning the land’ establishes the framework for the emphatic negation. The relative marker asher {אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾă-šer} ‘which’ links this to the participle menasseim {מְנַשְּׂאִים | mə-nas-śə-ʾîm} ‘lifting up’, a Piel form that intensifies desire directed toward the infinitive lashuv {לָשׁוּב | lā-šûḇ} ‘to return’, indicating purpose. The paired adverbs sham {שָׁם | šām} and shammah {שָׁמָּה | šām-mā} form a reduplication emphasizing the desired location. The negation lo {לֹא | lō} ‘not’ with the imperfect yashuvu {יָשׁוּבוּ | yā-šū-ḇû} ‘they will return’ yields a result clause that bars the hoped-for return. |