| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The verse is a rhetorical question introduced by hazot {הֲזֹאת | hă-zōʾt} ‘is this?’, which confronts the hearer and implies that the answer should be obvious. The perfect verb yadata {יָדַעְתָּ | yā-daʿ-tā} ‘you have known’ presents the knowledge as something already established, sharpening the rebuke. The prepositional unit minni-ad {מִנִּי־עַד | min-nî-ʿaḏ} functions idiomatically as a temporal frame (‘from of old’), and the second minni {מִנִּי | min-nî} governs the infinitive sim {שִׂים | śîm} to express a “since + event” time clause: “since the placing of humankind upon the earth.” Hebrew’s compact temporal phrasing places the ancient-time marker before the historical starting point, creating an emphatic sweep from primordial beginnings to the present. English renders this by making the time relationship explicit (“from long ago… ever since”), while keeping the interrogative force of the rebuke. |