| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the vav-consecutive Hitpael form vayitpaqdu {וַיִּתְפָּֽקְדוּ֩ | wayyiṯpāqeḏû} ‘and were mustered’, signaling the assembly of Binyamin {בִנְיָמִ֜ן | Binyāmin}. The temporal phrase bayom hahu {בַּיּ֤וֹם הַהוּא | bayyôm hâhûʾ} sets the time, and the genitive prepositional meha'arim {מֵהֶ֣עָרִ֔ים | mêhēʿārîm} ‘from the cities’ specifies origin. The additive numeral esrim ve-shishah elef {עֶשְׂרִ֨ים וְשִׁשָּׁ֥ה אֶ֛לֶף | ʿeśrîm wə-šīššāh ʾelep̄} ‘twenty and six thousand’ uses “x and y” plus unit construction. The participle sholef charev {שֹׁ֣לֵֽף חָ֑רֶב | šôlêp̄ ḥāreḇ} describes martial readiness. The exclusion clause levad miyoshvei ha-giv'ah {לְ֠בַד מִיֹּשְׁבֵ֤י הַגִּבְעָה | lə-vaḏ mî-yōšəḇê ha-gīḇʿāh} separates the Gibeah contingent. A second Hitpael hitpaqdu {הִתְפָּ֣קְד֔וּ | hitpaqeḏû} marks the mustering of sheva meot bachur {שְׁבַ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת בָּחֽוּר | šeḇāʿ mêʾôt bāḥûr} ‘seven hundred chosen’, heightening the contrast in scale and selection. |