| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the vav-consecutive verbs vaya'alu {וַיַּעֲל֨וּ | wayya‘ălû} “and they went up” followed by vayomru {וַיֹּ֨אמְרוּ | wayyō’mərû} “and they said,” establishing sequential action. The construct chain sarənê Plištîm {סַרְנֵ֣י פְלִשְׁתִּ֗ים | sarənê Plištîm} designates the Philistine rulers as a governing class. The paired imperatives pattî {פַּתִּ֣י | pattî} “entice” and ûre’î {וּרְאִי֙ | ûre’î} “see” direct Delilah’s role in testing Samson. The interrogative prepositional phrases bammêh kōaḥô {בַּמֶּה כֹּח֣וֹ | bammêh kōaḥô} “by what his strength” emphasize inquiry into Samson’s power, while ûbammêh nûḥal lō {וּבַמֶּה נ֣וּכַל ל֔וֹ | ûbammêh nûḥal lō} “and by what we may be able against him” marks determination of strategy. The shift from the planning verb nûḥal to the execution sequence va’asərnûhû lə’anôtô “we will bind him to afflict him” clarifies intent. Finally, the distributive construction nittan-lāḵ ’îš ’elep̄ ûmē’āh kāseṗ {נִתַּן־לָ֔ךְ אִ֕ישׁ אֶ֥לֶף וּמֵאָ֖ה כָּֽסֶף} “you will be given each one thousand one hundred silver” ensures equal shares of the promised payment, reflecting biblical numerical protocol. |