| 11. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with the vav-consecutive verb vayis’u {וַיִּסְע֤וּ | wayyissa’u} ‘and they set out,’ which propels the story forward. A series of origin phrases—misham {מִשָּׁם֙ | misham} ‘from there,’ mi-mishpachat ha-dani {מִמִּשְׁפַּ֣חַת הַדָּנִ֔י | mi-mishpachat ha-dani} ‘from the clan of the Danite,’ mi-tzora’ah {מִצָּרְעָ֖ה | mi-tzora’ah} ‘from Zorah,’ and u-me-eshtaol {וּמֵאֶשְׁתָּאֹ֑ל | u-me-eshtaol} ‘and from Eshtaol’—marks geographic and tribal departures. The cardinal construction shesh-me’ot ish {שֵֽׁשׁ־מֵא֣וֹת אִ֔ישׁ | shesh-me’ot ish} ‘six hundred men’ combines a numeral with a singular noun to denote plurality. The participle chagur {חָג֖וּר | chagur} ‘girded’ qualifies the group, and the construct phrase kelei milchamah {כְּלֵ֥י מִלְחָמָֽה | kelei milchamah} ‘equipment of war’ conveys readiness. In English, these elements are arranged in SVO order with adjectival and noun phrases preserving the Hebrew construct relationships. |