| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The command opens with the Piel imperative daber {דַּבֵּר | dabbēr} ‘Speak’, addressed via el-benei yisrael {אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל | ʾel-benê yiśrāʾēl} ‘to the sons of Israel’. The vav-consecutive forms veyashuvu and veyachanu {וְיָשֻׁבוּ וְיַחֲנוּ | wə-yāšūvū wə-yaḥănû} sequence commands ‘and let them turn back and encamp’. Two chained locatives—lifnei pi hachirot and bein migdol ubein hayam {לִפְנֵי פִּי הַחִירֹת | li-pnê pî haḥîrōṯ; בֵּין מִגְדֹּל וּבֵין הַיָּם}—identify the pass Pi Hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. A further lifnei baal tsephon {לִפְנֵי בַּעַל צְפֹן | li-pnê Bāʿal Tsep̄ōn} positions them opposite Baal Zephon, and tachanu al-hayam {תַחֲנוּ עַל־הַיָּם | taḥănû ʿal-ha-yām} finalizes the instruction to encamp by the sea. The vav-consecutive imperatives and precise prepositional chaining deliver narrative momentum and spatial clarity. |