| 1. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with bayom hahu {בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא | bā-yōm hā-hû} ‘on that day’, marking a specific temporal context. The Niphal perfect verb nikra {נִקְרָ֛א | nī-qrā’} ‘was read’ is followed by the prepositional construct besefer Moshe {בְּסֵ֥פֶר מֹשֶׁ֖ה | bĕ-sê-phēr mō-šē} ‘in the book of Moses’. The idiom beoznei haam {בְּאָזְנֵ֣י הָעָ֑ם | bĕ-’ōz-nê hā-’ām} ‘to the ears of the people’ underscores the public nature of the proclamation. The coordinating clause wenimtza katuv bo {וְנִמְצָא֙ כָּת֣וּב בּ֔וֹ | wə-nim-ṣā’ kā-tûv bō} ‘and it was found written in it’ introduces the embedded legal stipulation. The relative clause asher loyavo ammoni wumoavi {אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָב֨וֹא עַמֹּנִ֧י וּמֹאָבִ֛י | ’ă-šer lō-yā-wō’ ’am-mō-nî ū-mō-’ā-vî} ‘that no Ammonite or Moabite shall come’ presents the exclusionary prohibition. The construct phrase biqahal haelohim {בִּקְהַ֥ל הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים | bĭ-qā-hāl hā-’ĕ-lō-hîm} ‘into the assembly of God’ specifies communal boundaries, and the adverbial adolam {עַד־עוֹלָֽם | ’ad-ō-lām} ‘forever’ denotes perpetual validity. These grammatical features preserve the verse’s legal and communal emphasis. |