| 23. Linguistic Exegesis Hebrew narrative employs the vav–consecutive imperfect to drive the action, here in wayya‘madû {וַיַּעַמְדוּ | wə-ya‘madû} ‘and they rose up’. The construct bənê ʿammôn {בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן | bənê ʿammôn} ‘sons of Ammon’ coordinated with wəmoʾâv {וּמוֹאָב | wə-mo-ʼāv} identifies the allied aggressors, while yōšəḇê hār se‘îr {יֹשְׁבֵי הַר־שֵׂעִיר | yōšəḇê hār se‘îr} ‘inhabitants of Mount Seir’ marks their target. The paired hiphil infinitives lə-ḥaḥărîm ū-lə-šimmîḏ {לְהַחֲרִים וּלְהַשְׁמִיד | lə-ḥaḥărîm ū-lə-šimmîḏ} intensify the scope of destruction, a hyperbolic device emphasizing total eradication. The temporal clause ū-kə-kallôtām {וּכְכַלּוֹתָם | ū-kə-kallôtām} ‘when they finished’ introduces the ironic perfect verb ʿāzarû {עָזְרוּ | ʿāzarû} ‘they helped’, as allies turn on themselves. The distributive ’îš bərē‘êhû {אִישׁ־בְּרֵעֵהוּ | ʼîš bərē‘êhû} ‘each man his companion’ underscores mutual violence. English preserves this threefold progression with coordinated infinitives, a temporal clause, and parallel structure to mirror the Hebrew narrative momentum. |