| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative unfolds through a series of vav-consecutive Piel verbs marking successive actions. The first wayyāḇer {וַיַּבְעֵר | wayyāḇer} ‘and he set on fire’ takes ʾēš {אֵשׁ | ʾēš} ‘fire’ as its object, specified by ballappīdīm {בַּלַּפִּידִים | ballappīdīm} ‘in the torches’. Next, wayyišallaḥ {וַיְשַׁלַּח | wayyišallaḥ} ‘and he sent’ governs bə-qāmōt pəlištîm {בְּקָמוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים | bə-qāmōt pəlištîm} ‘in the standing grain of the Philistines’, introducing the initial burning. A second wayyāḇer {וַיַּבְעֵר | wayyāḇer} ‘and he set on fire’ then describes the spread from mī-gāddīš {מִגָּדִישׁ | mī-gāddīš} ‘from the shocks’ through wə-ʿad-qāmāh {וְעַד־קָמָה | wə-ʿad-qāmāh} ‘and up to the standing grain’ and wə-ʿad-kerem {וְעַד־כֶּרֶם | wə-ʿad-kerem} ‘and up to the vineyard’. This cumulative structure reflects the unstoppable advance of the flames across distinct agricultural zones. |