| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with a prototypical action clause sheshet yamim te’aseh melakhah {שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תֵּעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה | šēšéṯ yāmîm tēʿāšéh mĕlāḵāh} ‘six days work shall be done’, establishing the routine labor period. The adversative u-vayom ha-shvi’i {וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי | ū·vā·yōm haššəvîʿî} ‘but on the seventh day’ marks a structural shift. The paired terms shabbat shabbaton {שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן | šabbāṯ šabbāṯōn} form an intensifying merismus for total cessation. Mikra-kodesh {מִקְרָא־קֹדֶשׁ | miqrāʾ qōḏēš} introduces the communal dimension of a sacred assembly. The prohibition kol-melakhah lo ta’asu {כָּל־מְלָאכָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ | kolle mǎlāḵāh lōʾ taʿăšû} employs negative concord for absolute disallowance of work. The concluding clause shabbat hi la-Yahweh b’khol moshvoteikhem {שַׁבָּת הִוא לַֽיהוָה בְּכֹל מֽוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם | šabbāṯ hîʾ lāYahweh bə-kōl mōšəḇōṯēkhem} extends the sacred rest to every dwelling as belonging to Yahweh. The translation preserves this syntactic rhythm while ensuring clarity in English. |