| 25. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the temporal phrase bayamim hahem {בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֔ם | ba-yā-mîm hā-hēm} ‘In those days’, establishing the historical frame. The existential ein {אֵ֥ן | ʾên} ‘there is not’ functions as a negative copula with melekh {מֶ֖לֶךְ | melêḵ} ‘king’ as subject and the locative beyisrael {בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | bĕ-yiś-rā-ʾēl} ‘in Israel’. A nominal clause follows: ish hayashar be'enav {אִ֛ישׁ הַיָּשָׁ֥ר בְּעֵינָ֖יו | ʾîš hay-yā-šār bĕ-ʿē-nāyw} ‘man upright in his own eyes’, serving as the subject of the imperfect verb ya'aseh {יַעֲשֶֽׂה | ya-ʿă-sêh} ‘he does’, which expresses habitual action. Hebrew’s lack of an explicit universal quantifier is rendered in English by using distributive expressions (“each man”, “each person”). |