| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse uses a chain of vav-consecutive verbs to map the border’s course. The verb veyarad {וְיָרַד | wə-yā-räḏ} ‘and it went down’ opens with the prepositional phrase min-yanokha {מִיָּנ֖וֹחָה | mî-yā-nô-ḥā} ‘from Janoah’. The proper nouns atarot {עֲטָר֣וֹת | ʿă-ṭā-rôṯ} ‘Ataroth’ and venaʿaraṭah {וְנַעֲרָ֑תָה | wə-na-ʿə-rā-ṯā} ‘and Naarah’ appear in apposition, marking successive landmarks. The next vav-consecutive verb ufaga {וּפָגַע | û-pā-ḡaʿ} ‘and it touched’ links to the locative biyericho {בִּירִיחוֹ | bi-rî-ḥō} ‘at Jericho’. Finally, veyatsa {וְיָצָא | wə-yā-ṣāʾ} ‘and it went out’ leads to hayarden {הַיַּרְדֵּן | ha-ya-rḏên} ‘the Jordan’. This coordination of prepositional phrases and vav prefixes produces a precise north-to-south territorial demarcation. |