| 49. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative continuity is marked by the vav-consecutive vaihyu {וַיִּהְיוּ | wayyihyû} ‘and they were’, introducing the subject hametim {הַמֵּתִים | hammêthîm} ‘the dead’. The locative phrase bammaggēpâh {בַּמַּגֵּפָה | bammaggēpâh} ‘in the plague’ establishes context. The compound numeral arbaah asar elef usheva meot {אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר אֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע מֵאוֹת | ’ar·bā·‘âh ’ăsār ’e·lep̄ u·šĕ·ḇa‘ mê·’ôt} ‘four-ten-thousand and seven-hundred’ yields 14,700 by the rule (4 + 10) × 1,000 + 700. The exclusion mil·lĕ·băd {מִלְּבַד | mil·lĕ·băd} ‘apart from’ is repeated with hammêthîm {הַמֵּתִים | hammêthîm} ‘the dead’ and followed by al də·ḇār qô·raḥ {עַל־דְּבַר־קֹרַח | ‘al də·ḇār qô·raḥ} ‘on account of the matter of Korah’, solidifying the exclusion. This structure foregrounds the plague’s overwhelming death toll before specifying the separate casualties linked to Korah’s uprising. |