| 25. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative unfolds with sequential actions marked by the vav-consecutive {וַ | wə} ‘sequential marker’ on va-ye-TZE and va-yash-KHI-tu. Purpose is expressed by the infinitive construct liqrāʾāṯām {לִקְרָאתָם | liqrāʾāṯām} ‘to meet them’. Temporal framing is set by bayyōm {בַּיּוֹם | bayyōm} ‘on the day’ plus the ordinal haššēnî {הַשֵּׁנִי | haššēnî} ‘the second’. The adverb ʻōḏ {ע֗וֹד | ʻōḏ} signals repetition. The numeral construct šəmōnaṯ ʻāśār ʾelep̄ {שְׁמֹנַת עָשָׂר אֶלֶף | šəmōnaṯ ʻāśār ʾelep̄} ‘eighteen thousand’ follows Hebrew counting rules. The noun īš {אִישׁ | īš} denotes a collective force, and the participle šōlpê {שֹׁלְפֵי | šōlpê} with ḥārēḇ {חָֽרֶב | ḥārēḇ} emphasizes the warriors’ status. |