| 20. Linguistic Exegesis Balaam’s oracle opens with the vav-consecutive imperfect {וַיַּרְא֙ | wayyár} ‘and he saw’ followed by the definite direct-object marker {אֶת־ | ’et} ‘accusative marker’. The conjunctional phrases {וַיִּשָּׂ֥א | wayyiṣaʼ} ‘and he lifted up’ and {וַיֹּאמַ֑ר | wayyōmar} ‘and he said’ frame the prophetic declaration. The construct chain reshith goyim ’Amalek {רֵאשִׁ֤ית גּוֹיִם֙ עֲמָלֵ֔ק | rēšı̄̂t gôyı̂m ’ămālêq} ‘first of nations—Amalek’ asserts Amalek’s primacy. The antithetical sequence ve-’acharito ’ădê ’ôvêḏ {וְאַחֲרִית֖וֹ עֲדֵ֥י אֹבֵֽד׃ | wə-’ăḥārı̂ṯô ’ădê ’ôvêḏ} ‘and his end until perishing’ uses the poetic preposition ’ădê to denote totality. The formal “lifted up his oracle” preserves the technical prophetic idiom, whereas the dynamic “began his message” streamlines the expression for modern readers. Both translations respect the Hebrew word order to maintain the impact of “first” and “end.” |