| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with veatta {וְעַתָּה | wə-ʿattāh} ‘and now’, coupling the petition to the present crisis. The demonstrative hinneh {הִנֵּה | hinnēh} ‘behold’ introduces an emphatic enumeration of adversaries—bnei-ammon {בְנֵי־עַמּוֹן | bənê-ʿammôn} ‘sons of Ammon’, umoav {וּמוֹאָב | ûmō-ʾāv} ‘Moab’, and veharseir {וְהַר־שֵׂעִ֗יר | wə-har-sê-ʿîr} ‘Mount Seir’—marked by consecutive waw conjunctions for cumulative force. The relative clause asher lonatattah {אֲשֶׁר לֹא־נָתַתָּה | ʾăšer lō-nattattāh} ‘whom You did not give’ uses a negative qal perfect with infinitive construct to express divine prohibition. The infinitive beboam {בְּבֹאָם | bə-bō-ʼām} ‘when they came’ plus the prepositional phrase meeretz mitzrayim {מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם | mē-ʻe-reṣ Miṣrāyim} situates the event in the exodus. Finally, the adversative clause ki saru mealeihem velo hishmidum {כִּי סָרוּ מֵעֲלֵיהֶם וְלֹא הִשְּׁמִידוּם | kî śārû mē-‘ălê-hēm wə-lō hiš-mî-dûm} ‘for they turned aside … and did not destroy them’ contrasts Israel’s diversion with unexecuted destruction, underscoring mercy. The formal translation retains Hebrew word order; the dynamic rendition clarifies causal and adversative relationships for contemporary readers. |