| 45. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with vayered {וַיֵּ֤רֶד | wayyēreḏ} ‘and he came down,’ where the vav consecutive marker signals a sequential shift to hostile movement. The coordinated subject haʿamaleqi vehakenaʿani {הָעֲמָלֵקִי וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי | haʿamāleqî wəha-kəna‘anî} with the participle hayoshev {הַיֹּשֵׁ֖ב | hayōšēḇ} specifies the enemies’ residence. The verbs vayakkum {וַיַּכּ֥וּם | wayyakkûm} ‘they struck them’ and vayyaketum {וַֽיַּכְּת֖וּם | wayyakkəṯum} ‘they beat them down’ are successive Hiphil imperfects, emphasizing initial assault followed by decisive subjugation. The final prepositional phrase ad-hakhormah {עַד־הַֽחָרְמָֽה׃ | ʿadd-hārəmāh} ‘until Hormah’ delineates the full extent of the pursuit, underscoring the methodical advance of the attackers. |