| 25. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive form vayavo {וַיָּבֹא | wayyā•ḇōʾ} “and he came,” establishing sequential narrative. The infinitive-vav lavoz {לָבֹז | lā•ḇōz} “to plunder” expresses purpose, with et-shelalam {אֶת־שְׁלָלָם | ʾet•šᵉlālām} marking the direct object “their plunder.” The phrase bahem larov {בָהֶם לָרֹב | bā•hēm lā•rōḇ} uses the preposition plus noun “in abundance,” followed by a construct list (urkush, ufegarim, uklei chamudot) specifying the spoils. Vayanatslu lahem {וַיְנַצְּל֥וּ לָהֶם | wayyanat•səlū lā•hēm} “and they seized for themselves” indicates appropriation, while le’ein-masa {לְאֵ֣ין־מַשָּׂא | lᵊ•ʾên•mas•śāʾ} “unable to carry” conveys the excess. The temporal clause vayihyu yamim sheloshah bozzim {וַיִּֽהְי֞וּ יָמִים שְׁלוֹשָׁה בֹּזְזִים | wayyi•hîy•û yā•mîm šəlōš•šāʾ bōz•zîm} “and they were three days plundering” completes the narrative with the causal ki rav-hu {כִּי רַב־הֽוּא | kî raḇ•hūʾ} “because it was great.” The translation preserves Hebrew word order and vav-consecutive sequence to maintain the historical tone while rendering clear English. |