| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with ve-hayah {וְהָיָ֕ה | wə-hā-yāh} ‘and it will be’, introducing a protasis. The infinitive construct ke-karovkhem {כְּקָֽרָבְכֶ֖ם | kə-qā-rā-və-khem} forms a temporal clause ‘as your drawing near’, and the prepositional phrase el ha-milchamah {אֶל־הַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה | ʾel ha-mil-ḥā-māh} sets the martial context. The vav-consecutive nifal ve-niggash {וְנִגַּ֥שׁ | wə-nig-gaš} ‘then shall come near’ presents the priestly action, followed by the piel ve-diber {וְדִבֶּ֥ר | wə-di-ber} ‘and shall speak’ directing speech to ha-am {הָעָֽם | hā-ʿām}. In English the protasis is rendered as a conditional clause in formal (‘When you are drawing close to the battle line’) and as a circumstantial phrase in dynamic (‘As the fighting draws near’) to enhance readability while preserving the Hebrew sequence. |