| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with va-yîš-laḥ-ʼă-ḵā {וַיִּשְׁלָחֲךָ֥ | and He sent you}, a vav-consecutive Qal imperfect that marks a past narrative action of divine sending. Yəhōwāh {יְהוָ֖ה | LORD} is the subject, with bə-dā-reḵ {בְּדָרֶךְ | on a journey} specifying purpose. Direct speech is introduced by va-yō-mər {וַיֹּאמֶר | and He said}, followed by the imperative lēḵ {לֵךְ | Go}. The hiphil perfect wə-ḥă-răm-tā {וְהַחֲרַמְתָּ֞ | and you devoted to destruction} intensifies the command, targeting ha-ḥat-tā-ʼīm {הַחַטָּאִים | the sinners} and ʻAmā-lēḵ {עֲמָלֵק | Amalek} via the direct-object marker ʾet {אֶת־}. The sequence continues with wə-nil-ḥam-tā {וְנִלְחַמְתָּ֣ | and you shall fight} with bō {בּוֹ | against him}, designating Amalek as a collective enemy. Finally, ăd {עַד | until} plus the Piel infinitive construct kăl-lō-tām {כַּלּוֹתָם | to finish them} and pronoun ʾō-tām {אֹתָם | them} conveys the absolute finality of the divine ban. |