| 40. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with ve’ayvai {וְאַיְבַּי | wə-ʾō-ye-ḇái} as the direct object of natattah {נָתַתָּה | nā-ta-ṯā}, “You have given.” The beneficiary li {לִּי | li} precedes oref {עֹרֶף | ʿō-rep̄}, “neck,” an idiom of submission. A parallel clause with u-mesane’ai {וּמְשַנְאַי | û-mə-śan-ʾái}, “those who hate me,” is governed by hitsmitem {הִצְמִיתָם | hiṣ-mî-ṯām}, “You have destroyed them,” emphasizing utter destruction. The paratactic and chiastic arrangement highlights the paired actions of granting submission and executing destruction, preserved in English through coordinated clauses. |