| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs merism by addressing kol-yoshvei tevel {כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵ֥י תֵבֵ֖ל | kôl-yō-šē-ḇê te-vēl} ‘all inhabitants of the world’ alongside wə-šōkhə-nê ʾā-reṣ {וְשֹׁכְנֵי אָ֑רֶץ | wə-šō-khə-nê ʾā-reṣ} ‘and dwellers of the earth’, creating a universal summons. Temporal clauses kî-nə-sōʾ-nēs hā-rîm {כִּנְשֹׂא־נֵס הָרִים֙ | kî-nə-sōʾ-nēs hā-rîm} ‘when a banner is lifted up on the mountains’ and wə-kiṯ-qō-ʿaʿ šō-pāʾr {וְכִתְקֹעַ שׁוֹפָ֖ר | wə-kiṯ-qō-ʿaʿ šō-pāʾr} ‘and when the trumpet is sounded’ each use a Qal infinitive construct for the sign action. The subsequent Qal imperfect verbs ṭi-rə-ʾû {תִּרְא֔וּ | ṭi-rə-ʾû} and tī-šmə-ʾû {תִּשְׁמָֽעוּ | tī-šmə-ʾû} function as imperatives ‘see’ and ‘hear’, forming a conditional sequence. English renders these as subordinate temporal clauses followed by main clauses to preserve causality and imperative force. |