| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse unfolds in a wayyiqtol sequence. The verb vatikmeteni {וַֽ֭תִּקְמְטֵנִי | waṯ-tiq-mə-ṭê-nî} ‘you shriveled me up’ highlights a forceful affliction. The result clause leʿed hayah {לְעֵד הָיָה | lə-ʿēd hā-yāh} ‘became a witness’ casts Job’s wasting body as legal testimony. The verb vayyakam {וַיָּקָם | way-yā-qām} ‘and it rose up’, combined with the locative bî {בִּי | bî} ‘in me’ yields an adversative nuance (‘rises up against me’). The construct kakhashi {כַּחֲשִׁי | kaḥăšî} ‘my gauntness’ personifies physical emaciation as prosecuting force, and the imperfect yaʿăneh {יַעֲנֶה | yaʿă-né} ‘it responds’ completes the courtroom metaphor as the body testifies against Job. |