| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse is a tight poetic couplet built as synonymous parallelism: the first line states the outcome, and the second restates it with a sharper image. The opening particle gam {גַּם | gam} ‘also/even’ adds an emphatic, “this too will happen” force within Bildad’s argument about the downfall of the wicked. The phrase or reshaim {א֣וֹר רְשָׁעִ֣ים | ʾôr rəšāʿîm} functions as a construct-style genitive (“the light belonging to the wicked”), using “light” as a metaphor for security, thriving, and continuing life. The verb yidakh {יִדְעָךְ | yidʿakh} ‘will be extinguished’ frames their end with the imagery of a flame being quenched. The second clause begins with a negated verb complex ve-lo-yiggeh {וְלֹֽא־יִ֝גַּ֗הּ | wə-lōʾ-yiggāh} ‘and it will not shine,’ then specifies the subject image as sheviv isho {שְׁבִ֣יב אִשּֽׁוֹ | šəvîv ʾiššô} ‘the spark of his fire.’ The pronominal ending on yiggah can be read as an object reference (“shine it”), but the line’s sense is that the spark itself provides no light; English therefore renders a straightforward “will not shine” to preserve the parallel meaning and the couplet’s rhythmic finality. |