| 11. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conjunction ve'et {וְאֵת֙ | wəʾêṯ} ‘and (direct object marker)’, signaling a new deployment segment. The phrase yeṯer hāʿām {יֶ֣תֶר הָעָ֔ם | yeṯer hāʿām} ‘remainder of the people’ identifies the contingent retained from the main force. The verb nāṯan {נָתַ֕ן | nāṯan} ‘he put/gave’ follows Hebrew VSO order, assigning command bə-yad {בְּיַ֖ד | bə-yad} ‘in the hand of’ Avshai {אַבְשַׁ֣י | ʾAḇšay} ‘Abishai’ plus achiv {אָחִ֑יו | ʾāḥiyw} ‘his brother’ in a construct chain. The Vav-consecutive wayyaʿrəkû {וַיַּ֣עַרְכ֔וּ | wayyaʿrəkû} ‘and they drew up’ with liqrāṯ {לִקְרַ֖את | liqrāṯ} ‘to meet/against’ forms a purpose clause indicating engagement readiness against benei {בְּנֵ֥י | bənē} ‘sons of’ ʿAmmôn {עַמּֽוֹן | ʿAmmôn}, reflecting a standard Hebrew battle idiom. The English rendering shifts VSO to SVO for clarity and renders tactical phrases idiomatically. |