| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The interrogative particle heʼānōkhî {הֶאָנֹכִי | heʼănōḵî} ‘is it I’ opens the verse, establishing Job’s rhetorical question. The prepositional phrase ləʾādām {לְאָדָם | ləʾādām} ‘to man’ specifies the external audience for siḥî {שִׂיחִי | siḥî} ‘my complaint.’ The conjunction wəʾimmadduʻa {וְאִם־מַדּוּעַ | wəʾimmadduʻa} ‘and if so’ introduces a conditional clause, followed by the negative lō-tiqṣar {לֹא־תִקְצַר | lō-tiqṣar} ‘should not be short.’ The verb is a qal imperfect third person feminine singular agreeing with rūaḥî {רוּחִי | rūaḥî} ‘my spirit,’ highlighting her endurance. English reorders the verb–subject–complement sequence into subject–verb–object but retains the rhetorical progression from external complaint to internal affirmation of resilience. |