| 19. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with ve-et {וְאֵת | wə-ʾēṯ} ‘direct object marker’, marking Nob as the target. Hikkāh {הִכָּה | hikkāh}, a Hiphil perfect verb, signals the completed act of striking. The construct chain ir {עִיר | ʿîr}–hakkōhănîm {הַכֹּהֲנִים | hakkōhănîm} ‘city of the priests’ defines the location. The instrumental phrase le-pi-cherev {לְפִי־חֶרֶב | lə-pî-ḥereḇ} ‘by the edge of the sword’ frames the destruction. The enumeration uses me-ish…ve-ad-ishah…me-olel…ve-ad-yonek {מֵאִישׁ…וְעַד־אִשָּׁה…מֵעוֹלֵל…וְעַד־יוֹנֵק}, listing all human groups inclusively. The vav-consecutive verbs wa-chamor {וַחֲמוֹר | wa-ḥămôr} and wā-seh {וָשֶׂה | wā-seh} extend the action to animals. The repetition of le-pi-charev {לְפִי־חָרֶב | lə-pî-ḥāreḇ} encloses the list, emphasizing total annihilation. |