te
te by itself can be either the past tense of se or of la. When in doubt, assume la, since se is usually inflected.
la
la is a relational that takes an object and asserts its existence. So, in the third sentence of the Babel text
ē teteñ ien
hēja ñanna jacālmi jajūti nā
aþ te sāim nīkan jacālmi ñe jakīþi
aþ te sāim nīkan ancēwri ñe anhērmi;
te merely asserts that the object or situation (sāim nīkan jacālmi ñe jakīþi in the first te clause, and sāim nīkan ancēwri ñe anhērmi in the second) is so. It is in the past tense because the whole narrative is in the past tense.
And they to each other (said)
we should make many baked bricks
and they with bricks as stones
and they with mud as mortar.
And that ends the third sentence. The fourth tomorrow.