וַיַּעֲשׂ֤וּ הָאֲנָשִׁים֙ כֵּ֔ן וַיִּקְח֗וּ שְׁתֵּ֤י פָרוֹת֙ עָל֔וֹת וַיַּאַסְר֖וּם בָּעֲגָלָ֑ה וְאֶת־בְּנֵיהֶ֖ם כָּל֥וּ בַבָּֽיִת׃
The Philistines* did so. They took two milch cows and harnessed them to the cart, and shut up their calves indoors.
*Heb. “Those involved”; cf. v. 2.
(The above rendering comes from the RJPS translation, an adaptation of the NJPS translation. Before accounting for this rendering, I will analyze the plain sense of the Hebrew term containing אִישׁ—in this case, its plural form אֲנָשִׁים—by employing a situation-oriented construal as outlined in this document, pp. 11–16.)
The term הָאֲנָשִׁים here refers to aforementioned (semi-active) participants in a depicted situation in terms of that situation. Thus it is playing one of its classic discourse roles. This usage also marks a turn in the narrative by shifting to a new label. (The antecedent term was פְלִשְׁתִּים “the Philistines” in v. 2.)
As for rendering into English, the NJPS ‘The men’ nowadays puts undue attention on the referents’ gender. Idiomatic English does not specify gender at this juncture; rather, it should go without saying.
The discourse function here of הָאֲנָשִׁים is typically expressed by the English phrase “those involved.” However, at such a large distance from the previous referring expression in v. 2, the conventions for tracking participant references in English prose call for a restatement of the referent. Hence the revised rendering’s substitution approach (with its accompanying footnote), which has ample precedent in NJPS practice.