| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with a rhetorical question formed by the hiphil perfect verb hitzilu {הַהִצִּילוּ | ha-hitsilu} ‘deliver’ to challenge the efficacy of foreign deities. The subject Elohei hagoyim {אֱלֹהֵי הַגּוֹיִם | ʾĕ-lō-hê ha-gō-yîm} ‘gods of the nations’ is specified by the relative clause asher shikhatu avotai {אֲשֶׁר שִׁחֲתוּ אֲבוֹתַי | ʾă-šer ši-ḥə-tû ʾă-vō-ṯai} ‘which my fathers destroyed,’ emphasizing decisive defeat. The repetition of the direct-object marker et before Gozan and Haran organizes the enumeration of conquered places. The construct u-vnei-Eden {וּבְנֵי־עֶדֶן | u-və-nê-ʾe-ḏen} ‘and the sons of Eden’ together with the relative clause asher bi-Tel-Assar {אֲשֶׁר בִּתְלַאשָּׂר | ʾă-šer bə-ti-lā-ʾaš-šār} ‘who were in Tel Assar’ precisely locates the group. English formal retains the sharp interrogative structure, while dynamic clarifies lineage and updates word order for readability. |