| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with az {אָ֤ז | az} ‘then,’ a temporal adverb marking sequence. Two parallel clauses follow, each introduced by construct chains aluphei {אַלּוּפֵ֣י | aluphei} ‘chiefs of’ and eilei {אֵילֵ֣י | eilei} ‘leaders of.’ In the first clause, the passive niphal nivhalu {נִבְהֲלוּ | nivhalu} describes a state of terror. The second clause employs a nominal structure with yoachazemo {יֹֽאחֲזֵ֖מוֹ | yoachazemo} taking the noun raad {רָ֑עַד | raad} ‘trembling’ to portray being gripped by dread. The final clause employs niphal perfect namogu {נָמֹ֕גוּ | namogu} together with emphatic kol yoshvei kana‘an {כֹּ֖ל יֹשְׁבֵ֥י כְנָֽעַן | kol yoshvei kana‘an} to depict total collapse. This tripartite parallelism intensifies the progression from terror to trembling to melting through syntactic symmetry and repetition. |