| 11. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the merism sheol {שְׁא֣וֹל | šə-’ōl} ‘Sheol’ and avaddon {וַ֭אֲבַדּוֹן | ’aḇaḏ-dōn} ‘Abaddon/Destruction’ joined by a vav-conjunction, portraying the totality of death. The preposition neged {נֶ֣גֶד | ne-ged} ‘before’ establishes spatial proximity to Yahweh {יְהוָ֑ה | yə-hō-wāh} ‘the LORD’. The adversative particle af {אַ֝֗ף | ’ap̄} ‘even’ triggers a qal-vachomer inference with ki {כִּֽי־ | ki} ‘for/if’, highlighting a stronger corollary. The construct libbot {לִבּ֥וֹת | lib-bōt} ‘hearts’ followed by bnei-Adam {בְּֽנֵי־אָדָם | bə-ne-ye-’ā-ḏām} ‘children of man’ shifts focus from cosmic realms to human interiority, intensifying the theological message that if Sheol and Abaddon are exposed before God, human minds are even more transparent. |