| 16. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with the vav consecutive in vaya’as {וַיַּעַשׂ | way·yā·’ăś} ‘and he did’, linking David’s action directly to divine instruction. The relative particle ka’asher {כַּאֲשֶׁר | ka·’ă·šeṯ} ‘as, just as’ introduces the compliance clause with the verb tzivahu {צִוָּהוּ | ṣiṿ·wā·hû} ‘he commanded him’, placing David as its object. The compound definite noun haElohim {הָאֱלֹהִים | hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm} ‘the God’ serves as the source of command. The subsequent vav consecutive in vayyakku {וַיַּכּוּ | way·yakk·û} ‘and they struck’ resumes the narrative action, with et {אֶת־ | ’et} marking machaneh {מַחֲנֵה | maḥ·nā·hê} ‘camp’ as direct object. The prepositional sequence miGibeon {מִגִּבְעֹן | mi·gib·bō·’ōn} ‘from Gibeon’ and ve-ad {וְעַד־ | wə·’aḏ} ‘and until’ gezerah {גָּזְרָה | gā·zər·ā} ‘Gezer’ delineates the extent of pursuit, underscoring the completeness of victory achieved through obedience. The English rendering preserves the Hebrew vav consecutives with “and” and smooths the relative clause for readability while retaining key particles. |