ויכתום. אמר רבי משה הכהן הספרדי ז"ל כי היה ראוי להיותו ויכיתום וכן וידביקו גם המה והנכון בעיני שהוא מפעלי הכפל והיא מלה זרה: AND BEAT THEM DOWN. Rabbi Moses the Spaniard, of blessed memory, says that our text⁷¹Which reads va-yakketum (and beat them down). should have read va-yakkitum (and beat them down).⁷²For the word is a hifil from the root nun, kaf, tav. Rabbi Moses is only commenting on the irregularity of va-yakketum. The meaning remains the same. Va-yadbeku (followed hard) in even they also followed hard after them (I Sam. 14:22) is similar.⁷³Here too the reading should be va-yadbiku rather than va-yadbeku, for the word is in the hifil. However, I believe that va-yakketum (and beat them down) comes from a double root⁷⁴The root kaf, tav, tav. and is an irregular word.⁷⁵For the word should have read va-yakkitum.

עד החרמה. שם מקום ויש אומרים עד שהחרימום: EVEN UNTO HORMAH. Hormah is the name of a place. Others say that the meaning of even unto Hormah is, until they destroyed them.⁷⁶In other words, hormah means destruction, and even unto Hormah means even unto destruction.