| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative unfolds through a vav-consecutive verb chain beginning with vayyiqen {וַיִּ֜קֶן | wəyyiqen} ‘and he bought’, followed by vayyiben {וַיִּ֙בֶן֙ | wəyyiben} ‘and he built’ and vayyiqra {וַיִּקְרָ֗א | wəyyiqrāʾ} ‘and he called’, marking acquisition, construction, and naming. The combined particle-noun unit ʾet-hāhār {אֶת־הָהָ֥ר | ʾet-hāhār} establishes the definite object ‘hill’, while the construct phrase šēm-šemer {שֶׁם־שֶׁ֔מֶר | šēm-šemer} and apposition ʾădōnē hāhār {אֲדֹנֵ֖י הָהָ֥ר | ʾădōnē hāhār} ‘owner of the hill’ clarify the eponymous relationship. The preposition ʿal {עַ֣ל | ʿal} expresses “after” in the naming formula, and the relative particle ʾăšer {אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾăšר} introduces the clause specifying the built city. English translation streamlines the repeated spatial term ‘hill’ by using “on it” for readability without loss of the Hebrew discourse structure. |