בַּדֵּ֣י

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 בַּדֵּ֣י

   bad-DE

   to the bars of
2. clause🔊 בַּדֵּ֣י שְׁאֹ֣ל תֵּרַ֑דְנָה

   bad-DE she-OL te-RAD-ne

   to the bars of Sheol they will go down
3. sentence🔊 בַּדֵּ֣י שְׁאֹ֣ל תֵּרַ֑דְנָה אִם־יַ֖חַד עַל־עָפָ֣ר נָֽחַת׃

   bad-DE she-OL te-RAD-ne im-YA-khad al-a-FAR NA-khat

   to the bars of Sheol they will go down if together upon the dust we descend

Exegesis

The verse opens with the fronted construct chain baddei sheol {בַּדֵּי שְׁאֹל | baddê šĕʾôl} ‘bars of Sheol,’ foregrounding the place of descent before the verb tērādnāh {תֵּרַדְנָה | tērādnāh} ‘will it go down’ and intensifying the imagery of confinement. Although tērādnāh is a third person feminine plural form, the context renders it singular “it,” referring to Job’s hope. The interrogative structure continues into the second clause, framing a parallel question rather than a temporal statement.