| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conjunctive temporal marker ve-attah {וְעַתָּה | wə-ʿattāh} ‘and now’, signaling a shift to a forthcoming decision. The demonstrative zeh {זֶה | zeh} ‘this’ identifies the topic, and the noun ha-davar {הַדָּבָר | ha-dā-var} ‘the matter’ functions as the subject of deliberation. The relative clause introduced by asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾă-sher} ‘that’ contains the cohortative imperfect verb naaseh {נַעֲשֶׂה | na-ʿă-seh} ‘we will do’, which expresses collective resolve. The prepositional phrase la-givah {לַגִּבְעָה | la-gibbāh} ‘to Gibeah’ combined with aleha {עָלֶיהָ | ʿā-le-hā} ‘against it’ indicates the target, and the final clause be-goral {בְּגוֹרָל | bə-gōrāl} ‘by lot’ denotes the decision method typical of Israelite procedure for divine guidance. The sequence topic + relative clause + main clause yields a deliberative tone akin to council speech in Judges. |