| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative unfolds with sequential vav-consecutive verbs wayyitten {וַיִּתֵּן | wayyiṯtēn} ‘and He sent’ followed by wayyippōl {וַיִּפֹּל | wayyippōl} ‘and He fell’, emphasizing cause and effect. The subject Yahweh {יְהוָה | Yəhôwāh} functions as the divine agent. The noun dever {דֶּבֶר | dəver} ‘plague’ signals divine judgment. Prepositional phrases bə-yisra’ēl {בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל | bə-yisra’ēl} ‘in Israel’ and min-yīsrā’ēl {מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל | min-yīsrā’ēl} ‘from Israel’ define location and scope. The numeric construction shiv‘īm ’elef {שִׁבְעִים אֶלֶף | šiv‘īm ’elef} ‘seventy thousand’ illustrates multiplicative grouping. The formal retains “fell” for literal correspondence, while the dynamic uses “died” to clarify the fatal outcome. |