| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs the vav-consecutive narrative with vayanas {וַיָּ֣נָס | wayyānas} ‘and he fled’ and vayaharog {וַיַּהֲרֹ֨ג | wayyahārog} ‘and he killed’ to mark successive past actions. The construct chain shivat alafim {שִׁבְעַת אֲלָפִים | šivʿat ʾalāp̄īm} ‘seven thousand’ combines with rekev {רֶכֶב | reḵēḇ} ‘chariots’ to specify a military unit, paralleled by vearbaim elef {וְאַרְבָּעִים אֶלֶף | wəʾarbāʿīm ʾelep̄} ‘and forty thousand’ with ish ragli {אִישׁ רַגְלִי | ʼîš raglî} ‘foot soldier’ for infantry. The direct object marker veet {וְאֵת | wəʾēt} introduces Shophakh {שׁוֹפַךְ | Šōphaḵ} and his title sar-hatsava {שַׂר־הַצָּבָא | sar-haṣṣābāʾ}, highlighting David’s agency in hemit {הֵמִית | hēmiṯ} ‘he put to death.’ English rendering shifts the construct structure into idiomatic military terms and uses apposition to convey rank and role. |