| 42. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the prohibitive particle al {אַל | ʾal} ‘do not’ plus the Qal imperfect taʿalu {תַּעֲל֔וּ | taʿa-lû} ‘go up’. This is followed by the causal conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} ‘because’ and the existential ein {אֵ֥ן | ʾên} ‘there is not’ linking Yahweh {יְהוָ֖ה | Yə-hō-wāh} ‘LORD’ with the locative beqirbekhem {בְּקִרְבְּכֶם | bə-qir-bə-khem} ‘among you’. The coordinating we-lo {וְלֹא | wə-lōʾ} ‘and not’ introduces the result clause with the Niphal imperfect tinagefu {תִּנָּ֣גְפ֔וּ | tin-nā-gə-pû} and its object lifnei oyvekhem {לִפְנֵ֖י אֹיְבֵיכֶֽם | lif-nê ʾōy-vê-khem} ‘before your enemies’. The structure prohibition → divine absence → consequence underscores the warning logic, which the English reflects through the ‘lest’ purpose clause in the formal version and the ‘so that you are not’ clause in the dynamic version. |