| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The question opens with ve-lā-māh {וְלָמָ֤ה | wə-lā-māh} ‘and why’, marking protest. The Hiphil perfect hă-ḇēʾ-ʾā-tēm {הֲבֵאתֶם֙ | hă-ḇēʾ-ʾā-tēm} ‘you have brought’ conveys completed causative action. The phrase ʾet-qāhāl Yə-hō-wāh {אֶת־קְהַ֣ל יְהוָ֔ה | ʾet-qāhāl Yə-hō-wāh} identifies the assembly as the direct object linked to the divine. The prepositional clause ʾel ha-mmî-dbār ha-zzēh {אֶל־הַמִּדְבָּ֖ר הַזֶּ֑ה | ʾel ha-mmî-dbār ha-zzēh} ‘into this wilderness’ indicates movement into a specific locale. The infinitive lā-mût {לָמ֣וּת | lā-mût} together with šām {שָׁ֔ם | šām} forms a purpose clause ‘to die there’. The coordinated elements ʾă-naḥ-nū ū-və-ʿî-rê-nū {אֲנַ֖חְנוּ וּבְעִירֵֽנוּ | ʾă-naḥ-nū ū-və-ʿî-rê-nū} include both the people and their livestock, heightening communal peril. The English preserves Hebrew word order and functional markers. |