Job 21:22ExegesisTAB

Job 21 : 22 Knowledge | Judgment | Sovereignty
22. Linguistic Exegesis
The verse opens with the interrogative particle hal {הַל | hâl} ‘is it’, forming a rhetorical question that underscores the impossibility of instructing the divine. The prepositional phrase el {אֵל | ʾēl} ‘to God’ marks the indirect object of the piel verb yelammed {יְלַמֶּד | yəlammed} ‘will teach’, which conveys intensified action toward imparting daʿat {דָּעַת | dāʿat} ‘knowledge’. The conjunction vehu {וְהוּא | wəhû} ‘and He’ coordinates the clauses and shifts focus to divine judgment. In this clause, ramim {רָמִים | rāmmîm} ‘exalted ones’ functions as the object of the qal imperfect verb yishpot {יִשְׁפּֽוֹט | yišpôt} ‘will judge’, indicating a characteristic divine activity. The parallel structure contrasts human inability to teach with God’s sovereign authority to judge even those at the pinnacle of status, reinforcing the theme of divine supremacy.

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