Untroubled Houses: Negation, Construct Chains, and Divine Irony in Job 21:9
Job 21:9 בָּתֵּיהֶ֣ם שָׁלֹ֣ום מִפָּ֑חַד וְלֹ֤א שֵׁ֖בֶט אֱלֹ֣והַּ עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ The Illusion of Peace: בָּתֵּיהֶם שָׁלֹום מִפָּחַד בָּתֵּיהֶם — “Their houses,” a construct form from בַּיִת (“house”) + 3rd person plural suffix. The construct state links directly to the following noun or description. שָׁלֹום — Literally “peace,” this functions as the predicate noun, describing the state…