| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The clause begins with u-malakh {וּמַלְאַךְ | ū-mallāʾḵ} joined by simple vav, introducing a new action in the narrative. The construct relationship “angel of Yahweh” places Yahweh {יְהוָה | Yə-hō-wāh} as the angel’s sender and authority, while amar {אָמַר | ʾāmar} carries the main speech event. The sequence el-gad … lemor … le-david creates a mediated command chain: the angel speaks to Gad, and Gad is to deliver the message to David. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} introduces the content of what must be said, and yaaleh {יַעֲלֶה | yaʿăleh} functions with jussive force to express obligation (“he should go up”). The purpose is marked by le-haqim {לְהָקִים | ləhāqîm}, an infinitive construct indicating the intended action, namely setting up mizbeakh {מִזְבֵּחַ | mizbēaḥ} “altar” directed la-Yahweh {לַיהוָה | la-Yahweh}. The location is specified by the prepositional phrase be-goren ornan {בְּגֹרֶן אָרְנָן | bəgōren ʾornān}, with ha-yevusi {הַיְבֻסִי | hayvūsî} adding a gentilic identifier that anchors the site within Israel’s older landholding context. |