Job 17:16 — ExegesisTAB

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. That clause begins with the conditional particle im-yaḥad {אִם־יַחַד | ʾim yaḥad} ‘if together,’ followed by the prepositional phrase ʿal-ʿāfār {עַל־עָפָר | ʿal-ʿāfār} ‘upon dust’ and the absolute noun nāḥaṯ {נָֽחַת | nāḥaṯ} ‘rest,’ functioning as a verbless clause in English. The setumah marker emphasizes the thematic break and underscores the uncertainty of final rest.