| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vedibberu {וְדִבְּר֣וּ | wə-ḏibbərû} ‘and they shall speak,’ where the vav-consecutive Piel form sequences the official pronouncement. The prepositional phrase el-ha-ʿām {אֶל־הָעָ֣ם | ʾel-hā-ʿām} directs the speech to the assembled people, and the infinitive construct le-ʾemor {לֵאמֹר | lê-ʾemor} marks the introduction of direct discourse. The interrogative mī-hā-ʾîš {מִֽי־הָאִ֞ישׁ | mī-hā-ʾîš} combined with the relative pronoun ʾăšer {אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾăšer} establishes the conditional inquiry. The perfect verb bānāh {בָּנָ֤ה | bānāh} contrasts with the non-occurrence of ḥănākô {חֲנָכ֔וֹ | ḥănākô} to define the situation. The jussive forms yēleḵ {יֵלֵ֖ךְ | yēleḵ} and wə-yāšōḇ {וְיָשֹׁ֣ב | wə-yāšōḇ} grant permission to depart, while pen-yāmûṯ {פֶּן־יָמוּת֙ | pen-yāmûṯ} expresses negative purpose. The locative ba-milḥāmāh {בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔ה | ba-milḥāmāh} situates the consequence, and the subsequent clause wə-ʾîš ʾāḥer yaḥnəḵennû {וְאִ֥ישׁ אַחֵ֖ר יַחְנְכֶֽנּוּ | wə-ʾîš ʾāḥer yaḥnəḵennû} conveys that another person will perform the dedication. In translation, the Hebrew concessive and jussive constructions are rendered with an inquiry and permissive instruction to preserve the original discourse flow. |