| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse is a conditional protasis introduced by im-yazqin {אִם־יַזְקִ֣ין | ʾim-yazqîn} ‘if it grows old’, presenting a hypothetical extreme of decline. Two imperfect verbs, yazqin ‘grow old’ and yamut {יָמ֥וּת | yā-mûṯ} ‘it dies’, form a coordinated progression from long-term weakening to apparent death. The two prepositional phrases baaretz {בָּאָ֣רֶץ | bā-ʾā-reṣ} ‘in the earth’ and uveafar {וּ֝בֶעָפָ֗ר | û-ḇe-ʿā-fār} ‘and in the dust’ create poetic parallelism that locates the decay below ground, intensifying the image of finality. The possessive suffixes in shorsho {שָׁרְשׁ֑וֹ | šā-rə-šô} ‘its root’ and gizo {גִּזְעֽוֹ | giz-ʿô} ‘its stump’ tightly bind the parts to a single implied subject (the tree), preparing for the contrast that follows in the next verse. English renders the Hebrew sequence with “Even if/Even when” and trailing punctuation to reflect that this line is intentionally incomplete on its own, functioning as the setup for the ensuing outcome. |