| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive verb wayyishma {וַיִּשְׁמַ֕ע | wayyišmaʿ} ‘and he heard’, advancing the narrative. The subject tou {תֹּעוּ | tōʿû} forms a construct chain with melekh {מֶלֶךְ | mēleḵ} ‘king’ and hamat {חֲמָת | ḥămaṯ}, indicating his domain. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} introduces a reported clause. Inside, the Qal perfect hikkah {הִכָּה | hikkāh} ‘he struck’ marks the completed action by dāvid {דָוִד | dāwîḏ}. The object et-kol-cheil {אֶת-כָּל-חֵּיל | ʾet-kōl-ḥēyl} ‘all the army’ pairs the direct-object marker with kol {כָּל | kāl} plus cheil {חֵּיל | ḥēyl} for totality. Finally, the appositional construct hadadezer-melekh-tsovah {הֲדַדְעֶזֶר מֶלֶךְ-צוֹבָה | ḥădadeʿezer mēleḵ-ṣōvāh} identifies the defeated ruler, framing the extent of the victory. |