כִּֽי־שְׁנ֣וֹת

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 כִּֽי־שְׁנ֣וֹת

   ki-she-NOT

   for years of
2. clause🔊 כִּֽי־שְׁנ֣וֹת מִסְפָּ֣ר יֶאֱתָ֑יוּ

   ki-she-NOT mis-PAR ye-e-TA-yu

   for years of number they will come
3. sentence🔊 כִּֽי־שְׁנ֣וֹת מִסְפָּ֣ר יֶאֱתָ֑יוּ וְאֹ֖רַח לֹא־אָשׁ֣וּב אֶהֱלֹֽךְ׃

   ki-she-NOT mis-PAR ye-e-TA-yu ve-O-rakh lo-a-SHUV e-he-LOKH

   for years of number they will come and a path I will not return I will go

Exegesis

The verse opens with ki {כִּי | kî} introducing a causal/explanatory ground for Job’s preceding words.

The construct chain shnot mispar {שְׁנ֣וֹת מִסְפָּ֣ר | šənôṯ mispār} (“years of number”) compresses the idea of a strictly limited lifetime into a tight nominal phrase; English expresses this as “a numbered span of years” (formal) or “a few years” (dynamic) to communicate finitude without preserving an opaque construct.

Root and etymology

ש־נ־ה🔊 ש־נ־הShin–Nun–Heh

“to repeat; year as a cycle”

• 🔊 שָׁנָהšānâyearGenesis 5:32