| 30. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with a triad of proper names: ve'ummah {וְעֻמָ֥ה | vă-ʿû-māh} ‘and Ummah’, va'afek {וַאֲפֵ֖ק | va-ʾă-pêq} ‘and Aphek’, and urekhov {וּרְחֹ֑ב | ū-rĕ-ḥōḇ} ‘and Rehob’. Each is introduced by the coordinating vav, yielding a paratactic series. Next, the noun arim {עָרִ֛ים | ʿā-rîm} ‘towns’ in the feminine plural absolute is immediately quantified by the compound numeral esrim ushtayim {עֶשְׂרִ֥ים וּשְׁתַּ֖יִם | ʿĕ-śerîm ū-šĕ-tay-yīm} ‘twenty-two’, a coordinated cardinal expression. The construct phrase ve-chatzeihen {וְחַצְרֵיהֶֽן | və-ḥa-ṣerê-hên} ‘and their villages’ uses a plural construct with a pronominal suffix to link dependent settlements. The Hebrew sequence foregrounds place names before summarizing with a total and associated domains. In English, an em dash and commas emulate this cumulative structure while ensuring clarity. |