| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The structure begins with uvenehem {וּבְנֵיהֶם | ū-ḇə-nê-hēm} ‘and their children’, marked by the vav-conjunction indicating narrative continuation. This is followed by the quantifier chatzi {חֲצִי | ḥă-ṣî} ‘half’, which modifies the Piel participle medabber {מְדַבֵּר | mə-ḏab-bēr} ‘speaking’, forming a participial clause that conveys habitual action. The feminine adjective ashdodit {אַשְׁדּוֹדִית | ʾaš-do-ḏîṯ} specifies the dialect. The negative circumstantial clause uses ve-einam + makirim + ledabber yehudit {וְאֵינָם מַכִּירִים לְדַבֵּר יְהוּדִית | wə-ʾê-nām ma-kkî-rîm lə-ḏab-bēr yə-ḥu-ḏît} ‘and they are not able to speak Judean’, where the Hifil participle conveys ability and the infinitive functions as its complement. The coordinating clause ve-khilshon am va-am {וְכִלְשׁוֹן עַם וָעָם | wə-ki-lə-šōn ʿam wā-ʿām} employs a Merism ‘people and peoples’ to denote diversity, with khilshon ‘like a language’ governing the distributive phrase. This progression underscores the sociolinguistic divide between insider and outsider speech. |