29:3 when 1 he caused 2 his lamp 3
to shine upon my head,
and by his light
I walked 4 through darkness; 5
31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, 6
or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
1 tn This clause is in apposition to the preceding (see GKC 426 §131.o). It offers a clarification.
2 tn The form בְּהִלּוֹ (bÿhillo) is unusual; it should be parsed as a Hiphil infinitive construct with the elision of the ה (he). The proper spelling would have been with a ַ (patakh) under the preposition, reflecting הַהִלּוֹ (hahillo). If it were Qal, it would just mean “when his light shone.”
3 sn Lamp and light are symbols of God’s blessings of life and all the prosperous and good things it includes.
4 tn Here too the imperfect verb is customary – it describes action that was continuous, but in a past time.
5 tn The accusative (“darkness”) is here an adverbial accusative of place, namely, “in the darkness,” or because he was successfully led by God’s light, “through the darkness” (see GKC 374 §118.h).
6 tn Heb “kept the poor from [their] desire.”