| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The line opens with appo {אַפּ֤וֹ | ʾappô} ‘his anger’ placed first for emphasis, foregrounding the emotional cause before the violent act. Taraf {טָרַ֨ף | ṭārap̄} ‘he tore’ is a perfect form that portrays the attack as a blunt, completed blow, while the following wayyiqtol vayistmeni {וַֽיִּשְׂטְמֵ֗נִי | wayyiśṭəmēnî} ‘and he hated me’ advances the sequence, tightening the linkage between assault and enmity. The next clause stacks kharaq {חָרַ֣ק | ḥāraq} ‘he gnashed’ with the prepositional phrases alay {עָלַ֣י | ʿālay} ‘against me’ and beshinnav {בְּשִׁנָּ֑יו | bəšinnāw} ‘with his teeth’, using vivid bodily imagery to depict rage. A shift in subject occurs with tsari {צָרִ֓י | ṣārî} ‘my adversary’, which re-identifies the attacker and sets up the closing action. The imperfect yiltosh {יִלְט֖וֹשׁ | yilṭôš} ‘he sharpens’ expresses ongoing intent, and the object einav {עֵינָ֣יו | ʿênāw} ‘his eyes’ extends the predatory metaphor: hostility moves from tearing to a sustained, threatening stare. The final li {לִֽי | lî} ‘to me’ keeps the focus personal and direct, making the verse a compact escalation from wrath, to violence, to fixation. |