| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the adverb atah {עַתָּה֩ | ʾăt-tâ} ‘now’, establishing a temporal frame. The imperative lekh {לֵ֨ךְ | lēḵ} ‘go’ with vav consecutive leads into a series of jussive commands, beginning with a parallel structure of vehikitah {וְהִכִּיתָ֜ה | wə-hik-ki-tā} ‘and you shall strike’ and vehacharamtem {וְהַֽחֲרַמְתֶּם֙ | wə-hă-ḥă-răm-tĕm} ‘and you shall utterly destroy’, intensifying the military imperative. The noun phrase et−kōl−ʾăšer−lō {אֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֔וֹ | ʾeṯ-kāl-ʾă-šer-lō} employs the accusative marker et, the universal quantifier kol, the relative pronoun asher, and the possessive suffix lo to delineate the full scope of possessions. The prohibition ve-lō taḥ-mōl {וְלֹ֥א תַחְמֹ֖ל | wə-lō ṯaḥ-mōl} uses the negative particle lō with an imperfect verb to express an absolute interdiction. Finally, the hifil perfect vehē-măṯ-tā {וְהֵמַתָּ֞ה | wə-hē-măṯ-tā} ‘and you shall put to death’ initiates a comprehensive series structured by the prepositions min {מִן | min} ‘from’ and ʿad {עַד | ʿad} ‘up to’, repeated for human and animal categories (mĕ-ʾîš, ʿad-ʾîš-shā, mĕ-ʿō-lēl, wə-ʿad-yō-nēq, mĭ-šôr, wə-ʿad-sěh, mĭ-gā-māl, wə-ʿad-ḥă-môr), creating a cumulative force typical of Hebrew legal pronouncements and mirrored in English by parallel clauses. |