| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive narrative verb wayyishma {וַיִּשְׁמַ֨ע | wayyišma‘} ‘and he heard,’ marking sequential progression. Its subject is the noun benhadad {בֶּן־הֲדַ֜ד | ben-hăḏad} ‘Ben-Hadad’ in construct. The next vav-consecutive verb wayyishlach {וַיִּשְׁלַח | wayyišlaḥ} ‘and he sent’ takes the direct object et-sarei {אֶת־שָׂרֵ֨י | ʾet-śārê} ‘the commanders’ of his troops (hahayalim {הַחֲיָלִים | haḥăyālim} ‘the troops’), specified by the relative clause asher-lo {אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ֙ | ʾăšer-lô} ‘that he had.’ The prepositional phrase al-arei-yisrael {עַל־עָרֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | ʿal-ʿārê-yiśrā’ēl} ‘against the cities of Israel’ indicates the target. A final vav-consecutive wayyakh {וַיַּךְ֙ | wayyāḵ} ‘and he struck’ launches the battle account with accusative markers introducing toponyms: et-iyon {אֶת־עִיּ֣וֹן | ʾet-ʿiyyōn} ‘Iyon,’ ve-et-dan {וְאֶת־דָּ֔ן | wə-ʾet-dān} ‘and Dan,’ ve-et {וְאֵ֖ת | wə-ʾēṯ} marking Abel (avel {אָבֵ֣ל | ʼāḇēl} ‘Abel’), beit-maakah {בֵּֽית־מַעֲכָ֑ה | bēt-ma‘āḵāh} ‘Beth Maacah,’ and ve-et-kol-kinerot {וְאֵת כָּל־כִּנְרוֹת | wə-ʾet-kāl-kinərôṯ} ‘and all Kinneroth.’ The phrase al-kol-erets-naphtali {עַ֖ל כָּל־אֶ֥רֶץ נַפְתָּלִֽי | ʿal-kāl-ʾereṣ-nap̄tālî} ‘throughout the land of Naphtali’ defines the full scope of the campaign. The sequence of vav-consecutive verbs underscores the swift and comprehensive nature of the assault. |