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The Syntax of Accusation and the Rhetoric of Cynicism
הֹוגַעְתֶּ֤ם יְהוָה֙ בְּדִבְרֵיכֶ֔ם וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֖ם בַּמָּ֣ה הֹוגָ֑עְנוּ בֶּאֱמָרְכֶ֗ם כָּל־עֹ֨שֵׂה רָ֜ע טֹ֣וב בְּעֵינֵ֣י יְהוָ֗ה וּבָהֶם֙ ה֣וּא חָפֵ֔ץ אֹ֥ו אַיֵּ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י הַמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃
Opening the Complaint
Malachi 2:17 begins not with a declaration, but with a divine sigh. “You have wearied the LORD with your words.” Yet what follows is not silence — it’s dispute, denial, and deflection. The people question the accusation: בַּמָּ֣ה הֹוגָ֑עְנוּ — “How have we wearied Him?” This verse unfolds as an argument, its syntax shaped by irony and indirection. Beneath it all is a powerful feature of Biblical Hebrew rhetoric: the structure of disputational dialogue, a format saturated with verbs of speech, indirect quotation, and embedded accusation.… Learn Hebrew
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