| 33. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav consecutive particle vesham {וְשָׁם | wə-šām} ‘and there’, linking the report to the preceding narrative. The Qal perfect verb raʾinu {רָאִינוּ | rā-ʾî-nû} ‘we saw’ takes the particle ʾet {אֶת־ | ʾet-} to mark the direct object hannefilim {הַנְּפִילִים | han-nə-pî-lîm} ‘the Nephilim’. The construct phrase bənê ʿănāq {בְּנֵי עֲנָק | bə-nê ʿă-nāq} ‘sons of Anak’ expresses lineage, further clarified by min hannefilim {מִן־הַנְּפִילִים | min han-nə-pî-lîm} ‘from the Nephilim’. The vav consecutive in vanəhî {וַנְּהִי | wan-nə-hî} ‘and we were’ plus the Qal imperfect verb signals a shift to metaphorical self-perception, with bᵉʿênēnû {בְּעֵינֵינוּ | bə-ʿê-nē-nû} ‘in our eyes’ and the simile kaḥăgābîm {כַּחֲגָבִים | ka-ḥă-gā-bîm} ‘like grasshoppers’. The conjunction wə-kên {וְכֵן | wə-kên} introduces a parallel result, leading to hāyīnū bᵉʿênêhem {הָיִינוּ בְּעֵינֵיהֶם | hā-yînû bə-ʿê-nê-hêm} ‘we were in their eyes’, mirroring the initial comparison. The iterative vav and parallel structure heighten the contrast between the spies’ self-view and external view. |