| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the prefixed conjunction uvenei {וּבְנֵ֧י־ | û̆v-nêĭ} “and the sons of,” introducing the subject Yisrael {יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל | yiśrāʾēl} ‘Israel.’ The perfect verb halchu {הָלְכ֥וּ | hā-lə-ḵū} marks a completed action “they walked.” The prepositional phrase bayabashah {בַּיַּבָּשָׁ֖ה | ba-yab-bā-šāh} ‘on the dry land’ emphasizes the miraculous terrain, while betokh {בְּת֣וֹךְ | bə-tôḵ} ‘in the middle of’ with hayam {הַיָּ֑ם | ha-yām} establishes a thoroughfare through the sea rather than a margin. The clause vehamayim lahem chomah ‘and the waters for them a wall’ inverts the Hebrew SVO order to highlight the waters’ protective function. Finally, the dual expressions miyminam {מִֽימִינָ֖ם | mî-yim-min-nām} “from their right” and u-mismolam {וּמִשְּׂמֹאלָֽם | u-miś-mō-ʾā-lām} “and from their left” frame the event spatially, conveying total enclosure by the divided sea. |