| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive form vatehi {וַתְּהִי | va-tə-hî} coupling narrative progression with od {עוֹד | ʿōḏ} ‘again’ to signal a repeated conflict. The noun milchamah {מִלְחָמָה | mil-ḥā-māh} establishes the event ‘war’ at the locative beGat {בְּגַת | bə-ḡaṯ} ‘in Gath.’ The second vav-consecutive vayehi {וַיְהִי | va-yə-hî} introduces the man characterized by a dual descriptor: midin madon {מִדִּין מָדוֹן | middîn mā-ḏôn} ‘of measure, giant,’ intensifying his stature. The parallel construct ve’etsbe’ot yadav ve’etsbe’ot raglav links ‘fingers of his hands and toes of his feet,’ with numeric determinatives shesh vashesh {שֵׁשׁ וָשֵׁשׁ | šeš wā-šeš} and esrim ve’arba {עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבַּע | ʿe-śrîm wə-ʾar-baʿ} completed by mispar {מִסְפָּר | mis-pār} ‘number.’ The clause vegam hu yullad leharafah employs pual perfect yullad {יֻלַּד | yul-lad} indicating passive birth, linking him to the Rapha {לְהָרָפָה | lə-hā-rā-pāh}, a known clan of giants. The Hebrew narrative syntax with vav-consecutive and parallel constructs is rendered in English through coordination and apposition for clarity while preserving syntactic weight. |