| 16. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the prepositional phrase leavdi {לְעַבְדִּי | lə-ʿaḇdî} ‘to my servant’, fronting the recipient to heighten the irony that even a subordinate relationship has broken down. The main clause karati ... velo yaaneh {קָּרָאתִי ... וְלֹא יַעֲנֶה | qārāṯî ... wə-lōʾ yaʿăneh} sets an expectation-and-denial pattern: a completed initiative (“I called”) is met by an unfulfilled, ongoing expectation (“he does not answer”). The second clause bemo-phi etchanen-lo {בְּמוֹ־פִי אֶתְחַנֶּן־לוֹ | bə-mô-pî ʾeṯḥannēn-lô} adds an intensifying instrument phrase (“with my own mouth”) before the verb, emphasizing personal, face-to-face pleading rather than mediated command. The shift from “call” to “entreat” marks escalation from summons to supplication, reinforcing Job’s humiliation and social isolation within a single, tightly coordinated sentence. |