| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the particle hen {הֶן | hĕn} ‘behold’, a marker of dramatic attention. The subject am {עָם | ʿam} ‘people’ appears in absolute form. Two parallel similes employ ke-lavi {כְּלָבִיא | kə-lā-vî-yāʾ} ‘like a young lion’ with the Qal imperfect yakum {יָקוּם | yā-qûm} ‘he will rise’, and wə-kă-ʼārî {וְכַאֲרִי | wə-kă-ʾārî} ‘and like a lion’ with the Hitpael imperfect yitnassa {יִתְנַשָּׂא | yiṯ-nā-śāʾ} ‘he will lift himself up’. This chiastic parallelism intensifies the martial image. The negative clause lōʾ yiškav ʿad-yōʾēḵal {לֹא יִשְׁכַּב עַד־יֹאכַל | lōʾ yiš-kav ʿad-yōʾē-kal} ‘he will not lie down until he eats’ uses the preposition ʿad to indicate a purpose or condition. The coordinated verb yišteh {יִשְׁתֶּה | yiš-têh} ‘he will drink’ completes the climactic sequence with the noun dam-ḥălālîm {דַם־חֲלָלִים | ḏam-ḥa-lā-lîm} ‘blood of the slain’ in construct. In English, the Hebrew imperfect aspect is rendered with future or modal expressions (‘rises’, ‘stands’, ‘does not rest’) to convey continuous or resolute action. The preservation of parallel verb forms and similes maintains the original emphasis on unwavering strength. |