| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the nominative pronoun hu {הֽוּא־ | hû} for emphasis, followed by the causative perfect hikkah {הִכָּ֧ה | hikkāh} in the Hifil stem indicating decisive action. The direct object marker et {אֶת־ | ʾet} marks pelishtim {פְּלִשְׁתִּ֛ים | pelish-tîm} as the object. The prepositional phrase ad azzah {עַד־עַזָּ֖ה | ʿad ʿazzāh} sets the geographical limit at Gaza, and ve-et gevuleha {וְאֶת־גְּבוּלֶ֑יהָ | wəʾet gevū-le-hā} extends that to its borders. The paired phrases mi-migdal notzerim {מִמִּגְדַּ֥ל נוֹצְרִ֖ים | mi-miḡ-ḏal nō-ṣerîm} “from the watchtower of the sentries” and ad ir mibtsar {עַד־עִ֥יר מִבְצָֽר | ʿad ʿîr mib-ṣār} “as far as the fortified city” create a boundary parallelism that emphasizes the total conquest. English retains this with matching “from… to…” framing. |