| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The verse is a compact poetic couplet built as two parallel cola joined by vav, with the first clause forming a verbless predication. The noun ruchi {רוּחִי | rûḥî} functions as subject, and zarah {זָרָה | zārâ} serves as a predicate adjective conveying estrangement. The prepositional phrase le'ishti {לְאִשְׁתִּי | ləʾištî} marks the target of alienation. The second colon opens with vekhanoti {וְחַנֹּתִי | wəḥannōṯî}, an infinitive construct used substantively for pleas, creating an elliptical parallel to the first cola; this is rendered idiomatically in dynamic as a finite action. The phrase livnei bitni {לִבְנֵי בִטְנִי | libnê ḇiṭnî} is a construct chain expressing intimate blood kinship—an idiom for closest relatives rather than literal offspring—and is translated “children of my own body” to capture this nuance. |