| 33. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with two sequential vav-consecutive verbs, vayyippənû {וַיִּפְנוּ | wayyippənû} ‘and they turned’ and wayyaʿălû {וַיַּעֲלוּ | wayyaʿălû} ‘and they went up’, establishing rapid narrative flow. The noun dereḳh {דֶּרֶךְ | dereḳh} introduces the route toward the region habbaššān {הַבָּשָׁן | habbaššān}. A new clause begins with wayyēṣēʾ {וַיֵּצֵא | wayyēṣēʾ} ‘and he went out’, identifying ʿōḡ {עוֹג | ʿōḡ} as subject and meleḵ-habbaššān {מֶלֶךְ־הַבָּשָׁן | meleḵ-habbaššān} as his title. The infinitive construct liqrāʾām {לִקְרָאתָם | liqrāʾām} marks Og’s purpose ‘to meet them’. The pronoun hūʾ {הוּא | hūʾ} and wəkāl-ʿammō {וְכָל-עַמּוֹ | wəkāl-ʿammō} ‘and all his people’ underscore his leadership. Finally, lammilḥāmâ {לַמִּלְחָמָה | lammilḥāmâ} specifies the military aim and ʾeḏrēʿî {אֶדְרֶעִי | ʾeḏrēʿî} fixes the location. English word order consolidates the Hebrew clauses while preserving participant roles and sequence. |