| 22. Linguistic Exegesis The verse uses the vav-consecutive Qal forms wayya‘ălû {וַיַּעֲל֣וּ | wayya‘ălû} ‘and they went up’ and wayyā-ḇō {וַיָּבֹ֣א | wayyā-ḇō} ‘and he came’ to mark sequential action. The prepositional phrase ban-nê-gev {בַּנֶּגֶב֮ | ban-nê-gev} ‘into the Negev’ establishes the route, while ʿăd ḥe-vrôn {עַד־חֶבְרוֹן֒ | ʿăd ḥe-vrôn} ‘as far as Hebron’ defines the destination. The conjunction wə-šām {וְשָׁ֤ם | wə-šām} ‘and there’ introduces the construct chain yᵉ-lî-ḏê hā-ʿă-nāq {יְלִידֵ֖י הָעֲנָ֑ק | yᵉ-lî-ḏê hā-ʿă-nāq} ‘offspring of the Anak’, emphasizing lineage before shifting to the clause wə-ḥe-vrôn še-vāʿ šā-nîm nibbə-nə-ṯā lifnê ṣō-ʿan miṣrā-yim, where the Niphal perfect verb nibbə-nə-ṯā ‘had been built’ and the temporal modifier šē-vāʿ šā-nîm lifnê ṣō-ʿan ‘seven years before Zoan’ locate Hebron’s construction relative to Egypt. The fronting of the Anak lineage intensifies the contrast between the scouting party’s discovery and the city’s ancient origin. |