| 23. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative uses the vav-consecutive Qal imperfect verb vayyabo'u {וַיָּבֹאוּ | wayyāḇōʾū} to mark sequential action. The spatial phrase ad-nachal Eshkol {עַד־נַחַל אֶשְׁכֹּל | ʿad-nāḥāl ʾeškōl} orients the scouts at the Valley of Eshkol. The verb clause vayyikretu misham {וַיִּכְרְתּוּ מִשָּׁם | wayyikkəretū miššām} ‘and they cut off from there’ introduces the direct objects the branch and cluster: zemorah ve-eshkol anavim echad {זְמוֹרָה וְאֶשְׁכֹּל עֲנָבִים אֶחָד | zemōrāh wə’ĕškōl ʿănāḇîm ’eḥād}, illustrating the scouts’ harvest of a single grape cluster. The following waw-consecutive clause vayyissa'uhu bamot bishnayim {וַיִּשָּׂאֻהוּ בַּמּוֹט בִּשְׁנָיִם | wayyissa’ūhū bammōṭ bišnayīm} ‘and they carried it on a pole with two’ highlights the communal effort with the dual form. Finally, the repeated conjunction-preposition u-min-harimmonim u-min-hate'enim {וּמִן־הָרִמֹּנִים וּמִן־הַתְּאֵנִֽים | ummi-rimmonîm ummi-te’enîm} ‘and from the pomegranates and from the figs’ completes the list. The syntactic pattern of waw-consecutives, construct noun phrases, and the use of the dual underline the scouts’ remarkable gathering, which is rendered in English by explicit clauses and clear listing. |