| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conditional particle im {אִם | ʾim} ‘if,’ introducing a protasis dependent on divine favor expressed by chafetz {חָפֵץ | ḥā-p̄ēṣ} ‘is pleased.’ The vav-consecutive hiphil ve-hē-vî {וְהֵבִיא | və-hē-vîʾ} ‘and he will bring’ and qal wə-nəṯānāh {וּנְתָנָהּ | wə-nəṯā-nāh} ‘and he will give it’ form a coordinated promise sequence. The direct object marker ’ō-ṯā-nû {אֹתָנוּ | ’ō-ṯā-nû} links the action to the recipients. The demonstrative ha-zōṯ {הַזֹּאת | ha-zōṯ} ‘this’ with the definite noun hā-’ā-reṣ {הָאָרֶץ | hā-’ā-reṣ} ‘the land’ emphasizes a specific territory. The appositional restatement ’e-reṣ ’ă-šer hîʾ zā-ḇāṯ ḥā-lāḇ wə-ḏə-ḇāš {אֶרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־הִוא זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ | ’e-reṣ ’ă-šer hîʾ zā-ḇāṯ ḥā-lāḇ wə-ḏə-ḇāš} ‘land which it is flowing with milk and honey’ highlights continuous abundance. The English preserves the protasis–apodosis structure, the vav-consecutive sequence, and the appositional emphasis. |