| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The vav-conjunction prefixes the noun u'pelishtim {וּפְלִשְׁתִּים | ū-phe-lish-tîm} ‘and the Philistines’ as the subject, followed by the Niphal perfect verb ne'esfu {נֶאֶסְפוּ | ne-ʾes-pû} ‘were gathered’. Purpose is marked by the infinitive lehillakhem {לְהִלָּחֵם | lə-hil-lā-ḥēm} ‘to fight’. The proper noun Yisra'el {יִשְׂרָאֵל | Yis-rā-ʾēl} ‘Israel’ is the object. Cardinal numerals appear in construct with nouns: sheloshim elef rekhev {שְׁלֹשִׁים אֶלֶף רֶכֶב | šalōšîm ʾe-lef re-ḵêv} ‘thirty thousand chariots’ and ve-sheshet alafim parashim {וְשֵׁשֶׁת אֲלָפִים פָּרָשִׁים | wə-šê-šêt ʾă-lā-p̄îm p̄ā-rā-šîm} ‘and six thousand horsemen’. The simile ve-am kakhol {וְעָם כַּחוֹל | wə-ʿām ka-ḥôl} ‘and people as sand’ employs the relative pronoun asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾă-šer} plus the prepositional phrase al-sefat-hayam {עַל־שְׂפַת־הַיָּם | ʿal sə-p̄at ha-yām} ‘on the shore of the sea’ to indicate vastness. Sequential action is signaled by the vav-consecutive imperfects vaya'alu {וַיַּעַלוּ | way-ya-ʿă-lû} ‘and they went up’ and vayakhanu {וַיַּחֲנוּ | way-ya-ḥa-nû} ‘and they camped’. The locative phrase bemikmash kidmat beit aven {בְּמִכְמָשׂ קִדְמַת בֵּית אָוֶן | bə-mikh-māś kid-mat bêt ā-ven} ‘at Michmash, front of Beth Aven’ situates the army eastward. |