| 26. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the temporal uvayom {וּבַיּוֹם | u·bay·yōm} “and on the day” using the prefixed vav for sequential narration. The ordinal harevi‘i {הָרְבִעִי | har·vi·ʾî} “the fourth” sets the chronological stage. The Niphal perfect niq·ha·lū {נִקְהֲלוּ | niq·ha·lū} “they assembled” indicates a self-gathering. The construct le·ʿe·mēk be·rā·ḥā {לְעֵמֶק בְּרָכָה | le·ʿe·mēk be·rā·ḥā} links locale and theme. The conjunction kī-šam {כִּי־שָׁם | kī-šam} “for there” introduces purpose, followed by the intensive piel be·rǝ·ḥū {בֵּרֲכוּ | be·rǝ·ḥū} “they blessed” with ʾet-yəhō·wāh {אֶת־יְהוָה | ʾet-yəhō·wāh} marking Yahweh as direct object. The result clause opens with ʿal·kēn {עַל־כֵּן | ʿal·kēn} “therefore,” leading to qā·rə·ʾū {קָרְאוּ | qā·rə·ʾū} “they called” and the construct ʾet-šēm ham·mā·qōm hā·hū {אֶת־שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא | ʾet-šēm ham·mā·qōm hā·hū} “the name of that place.” The repetition of ʿe·mēk be·rā·ḥā underscores the toponym, and ʿad·hay·yōm {עַד־הַיּוֹם | ʿad·hay·yōm} “until the day” signals the enduring nature of the designation. The English phrasing mirrors the Hebrew causal flow and naming logic. |