| 19. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayomeru {וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ | wayyō’mərû} ‘and they said’, employing the vav-consecutive to introduce direct speech. The subject phrase bene-Yisrael {בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֘ | bə-nē-yisrā’ēl} ‘sons of Israel’ underscores corporate identity. The locative bamesillah {בַּֽמְסִּלָּ֣ה | ba-mə-ṣîl-lāh} ‘by the highway’ specifies route. The conditional ve-im {וְאִם־ | wə-’im} ‘and if’ sets a protasis in a first-class conditional, paired with nishteh {נִשְׁתֶּה֙ | ništēh} ‘we will drink’ to frame a provision. The negative existential ein-davar {אֵין־דָּבָ֖ר | ’ên-dāḇār} ‘nothing there is’ with rak {רַ֥ק | rāq} ‘only’ circumscribes the request. The cohortative eevorah {אֶעֱבֹרָה׃ | ’e‘ĕḇōrāh} ‘let me pass through’ concludes a polite petition, reflecting negotiation syntax. |