| 39. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conjunction ve’et {וְאֵת | wə-ʾêṯ} ‘and’ introducing the direct object. It advances through the construct chain in Zadok ha-kōhên ve’eḥāv ha-kōhanîm {צָד֣וֹק הַכֹּהֵן וְאֶחָיו הַכֹּהֲנִים} ‘Zadok the priest and his brothers, the priests’, marking the central priestly figures. The preposition lifnei {לִפְנֵי | li·phnê} ‘before’ establishes the relation to miš·kān Yahweh {מִשְׁכָּן יְהוָה | miš·kān Yəhōwāh} ‘the tabernacle of the LORD’. The locative phrase ba-bā·māh {בַּבָּמָה | ba·bā·māh} ‘at the high place’ is specified by the relative clause ʾă·šer bə·ġivʿōn {אֲשֶׁר בְּגִבְעֽוֹן | ʾă·šer bə·ġivʿōn} ‘which is in Gibeon’. This structure of direct objects, construct chains, and nested prepositional clauses creates a liturgical tableau, and the English preserves nominal sequences and prepositional markers to echo that pattern. |