| 33. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with a threefold distributive use of the adjective me'at {מְעַט | məʿaṭ} ‘a little,’ each instance modifying successive nouns—shenot {שֵּׁנוֹת | šēnōṯ}, tenumot {תְּנוּמוֹת | tənūmōṯ}, chibuk {חִבֻּק | ḥibbūq}—to intensify the image of laziness. The idiomatic phrase chibuk yadayim {חִבֻּק יָדַיִם | ḥibbūq yāḏāyīm} ‘folding of the hands’ conveys idleness, and the infinitive lishkav {לִשְׁכָּב | liškāḇ} with prefixed lamed indicates purpose ‘to lie down.’ The English preserves the Hebrew’s parallel structure and vivid physical imagery to maintain rhetorical force. |