| 30. Linguistic Exegesis The verse is a nominal clause with an implied verb “were,” introduced by utseva’o {וּצְבָא֖וֹ | û-ṣə-ḇā-ʾō} ‘and his army’ coordinated with ufekudeihem {וּפְקֻדֵיהֶ֑ם | û-pə-qû-ḏê-hêm} ‘and their mustered men,’ both forming the subject. The subsequent numeric expression sheloshah vachamishim elef ve’arba me’ot ‘three and fifty thousand and four hundred’ employs Hebrew addition and multiplication rules: (3 + 50) × 1,000 + 400. The chain of vav-conjunctions links units, tens, thousands, and hundreds in typical Hebrew enumeration. The fronted predicates emphasize the host’s composition. English supplies the verb “totaled” (formal) or “was” (dynamic) to complete the equational clause. |