Tag Archives: Judges 2:22

Testing Israel: Purpose Clauses and Conditional Syntax in Judges 2:22

לְמַ֛עַן נַסֹּ֥ות בָּ֖ם אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל הֲשֹׁמְרִ֣ים הֵם֩ אֶת־דֶּ֨רֶךְ יְהוָ֜ה לָלֶ֣כֶת בָּ֗ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר שָׁמְר֥וּ אֲבֹותָ֖ם אִם־לֹֽא׃ (Judges 2:22) Purpose Clause: לְמַעַן נַסֹּות בָּם אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמַעַן (“in order that”) introduces a purpose clause. נַסֹּות is a Piel infinitive construct of נ־ס־ה (“to test, try”), expressing purpose: “to test.” The prepositional phrase בָּם (“in them”) points to Israel as the object of testing, while אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל clarifies Israel as the direct object of the testing action. Identifying the Group: הֲשֹׁמְרִים הֵם אֶת־דֶּרֶךְ יְהוָה הֲשֹׁמְרִים (“whether keeping”) is a Qal participle masculine plural of ש־מ־ר (“to keep, guard”).… Learn Hebrew
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