| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the noun be’er {בְּאֵ֞ר | bĕ-ʾēr} ‘well’ as the discourse topic, followed by two parallel relative clauses with Qal perfect verbs khafaruha {חֲפָר֣וּהָ | ḥă-pā-rû-hā} ‘they dug it’ and karuha {כָּר֙וּהָ֙ | kā-rû-hā} ‘they bored it’, governed by sarim {שָׂרִ֗ים | śā-rîm} ‘princes’ and nedivei ha-am {נְדִיבֵ֣י הָעָ֔ם | nᵊ-dî-wē hā-ʿām} ‘nobles of the people’, emphasizing elite participation. The instrumental phrase bimchokeq {בִּמְחֹקֵ֖ק | bᵊ-mḥō-qēq} ‘with the scepter’ and bemishanotam {בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָ֑ם | bᵊ-mi-ša-ʿā-nō-tām} ‘with their staffs’ marks the implements used. The conjunction umimidbar {וּמִמִּדְבָּ֖ר | ū-mi-mid-bār} ‘and from the wilderness’ signals a geographical shift to Mattanah {מַתָּנָֽה | maṯ-ṭā-nā}. |