| 11. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with gam {גַּם | găm} ‘also’, presenting a general principle. The fronted prepositional phrase bemaalalav {בְּמַעֲלָלָיו | bə-mă-ʿă-lā-lāv} ‘by his deeds’ stresses observable behavior. The unit yitnaker-naar {יִתְנַכֶּר־נָעַר | yiṯ-nak-ker-nāʿār} features a maqqef linking the Niphal imperfect verb and noun, inverting the verb–subject order for emphasis on recognition. The conditional particles im {אִם | ʾim} and veim {וְאִם | wə-ʾim} introduce parallel assessments of zakh {זַךְ | zakh} ‘pure’ and yashar {יָשָׁר | yāšār} ‘upright’, reinforcing that both moral cleanliness and ethical integrity reveal character. The translation retains the Hebrew’s adverbial focus and sequential parallelism to mirror the cause–effect structure. |