| 11. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew employs a sequence of vav consecutive clauses to chart the territorial border. In the first clause, veyatsa {וְיָצָא | wə-yā-ṣāʾ} ‘and it went out’ introduces the goal phrase el-ketef eqron tsafonah {אֶל־כֶּתֶף עֶקְרוֹן צָפוֹנָה | ʾel-keṯep ʿe-qər-ôn ṣā-pō-nāh} ‘to the slope of Ekron northward’, where the suffix -nāh marks directional movement. Subsequent clauses use veta’ar {וְתָאַר | wə-ṭā-ʾar} ‘and it turned’, ve’avar {וְעָבַר | wə-‘ā-var} ‘and it passed’, and veyatsa {וְיָצָא | wə-yā-ṣāʾ} ‘and it went out’ linked to the place names Shikkronah {שִׁכְּרוֹנָה | ši-kə-rō-nāh}, har-ha-ba’alah {הַר־הַבַּעֲלָה | har-hă-ʾă-lāh}, and Yavne’el {יַבְנְאֵל | yab-nē-ʾēl}. The final clause employs vehayu {וְהָיוּ | wə-hā-yû} ‘and they were’ in a nominal equative with the construct totzeot hagvul {תֹּצְאוֹת הַגְּבוּל | tō-ṣā-ʾōṯ ha-ḡə-vul} ‘outgoings of the border’ and the noun yamah {יָמָה | yā-māh} ‘sea’ to indicate the border’s terminus. This linear structure produces a clear cartographic narrative that is mirrored in English by successive directional and locational phrases. |