Nehemiah 13:16ExegesisTAB

Nehemiah 13 : 16 Commerce | Sabbath | Defilement
16. Linguistic Exegesis
ve-hatsorim {וְהַצֹּרִים֙ | wə-ha-ṣō-rîm} ‘and the Tyrians’ begins with the conjunction vav marking continuity and direct specification of a foreign group. Yashvu {יָ֣שְׁבוּ | yā-šə-vû} ‘dwelled’ is a Qal perfect indicating a settled, completed state in the past. Mevi’im {מְבִיאִ֥ים | mə-vî-ʾîm} ‘bringing’ and u-mokhrim {וּמֹכְרִ֧ים | u-mō-ḵrîm} ‘selling’ are participles framing ongoing commercial actions, linked by ve-kol-mecher {וְכָל־מֶ֑כֶר | wə-kol-me-ḵer} ‘and all merchandise’ which distributes a variety of goods. Ba-shabbat {בַּשַּׁבָּ֛ת | ba-šabbāt} ‘on the Sabbath’ functions as a temporal adjunct highlighting a violation of rest. Livnei Yehudah {לִבְנֵ֥י יְהוּדָ֖ה | li-və-nê yə-hū-dāh} ‘to the children of Judah’ and u-vi-Yerushalayim {וּבִירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם | u-vî-rū-šā-lā-yim} ‘and in Jerusalem’ broaden the audience and location. The Hebrew construct chains and participial sequence require English relational smoothing, preserving emphasis on the merchants’ routine defilement of sacred time.

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