| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav consecutive in vayomru {וַיֹּאמְרוּ | wayyōmerû} ‘and they said,’ framing the dialogue. The noun ish {אִ֣ישׁ | ʾîš} ‘man’ with Yehudah {יְהוּדָה | yĕhûḏāh} ‘Judah’ conveys "men of Judah." The interrogative lamah {לָמָה | lāmāh} introduces the question. The perfect verb alitem {עֲלִיתֶם | ʿălîṯem} ‘you came up’ with aleinu {עָלֵינוּ | ʿālênû} ‘against us’ indicates hostile approach. In the response, le’esor {לֶאֱסֹר | l(e)ʾəsôr} ‘to bind’ plus the object et-shimshon {אֶת־שִׁמְשׁוֹן | ʾeṯ-šimšōn} expresses intent. The infinitive la’asot {לַעֲשֹׂת | laʿăśôt} ‘to do’ with lo {לוֹ | lô} ‘to him’ and comparative ka’asher {כַּאֲשֶׁר | kaʾăšer} links asah {עָשָׂה | ʿāsâh} ‘he did’ and lanu {לָנוּ | lānû} ‘to us,’ creating parallelism that underscores mutual retaliation. |