וְשַׁבְתֶּֽם׃

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 וְשַׁבְתֶּֽם׃

   ve-shav-TEM

   and then you shall return
2. clause🔊 וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ שְׁב֣וּ בִֽירֵח֔וֹ עַ֛ד אֲשֶׁר־יְצַמַּ֥ח זְקַנְכֶ֖ם וְשַׁבְתֶּֽם׃

   va-YO-mer ha-ME-lekh she-VU vi-re-KHO AD a-sher-ye-tsam-MAKH ze-kan-KHEM ve-shav-TEM

   and he said the king stay in Jericho until which will grow your beard and then you shall return
3. sentence🔊 וַיֵּלְכוּ֩ וַיַּגִּ֨ידוּ לְדָוִ֤יד עַל־הָֽאֲנָשִׁים֙ וַיִּשְׁלַ֣ח לִקְרָאתָ֔ם כִּי־הָי֥וּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים נִכְלָמִ֣ים מְאֹ֑ד וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ שְׁב֣וּ בִֽירֵח֔וֹ עַ֛ד אֲשֶׁר־יְצַמַּ֥ח זְקַנְכֶ֖ם וְשַׁבְתֶּֽם׃

   va-ye-le-KHU va-ya-GI-du le-da-VID al-ha-a-na-SHIM va-yish-LAKH lik-ra-TAM ki-ha-YU ha-a-na-SHIM nikh-la-MIM me-OD va-YO-mer ha-ME-lekh she-VU vi-re-KHO AD a-sher-ye-tsam-MAKH ze-kan-KHEM ve-shav-TEM

   and they went and they told to David about the men and he sent to meet them for they were the men ashamed very and he said the king stay in Jericho until which will grow your beard and then you shall return

Exegesis

The temporal clause ad asher-yetzamach {עַד אֲשֶׁר־יְצַמַּ֥ח | ʿad ʾăšer-yĕṣammāḥ} ‘until it grows’ attaches to zekankhem {זְקַנְכֶ֖ם | zᵉqānḵem} ‘your beard’, and the perfect veshavtem {וְשַׁבְתֶּֽם | wə-šāḇtēm} ‘and you return’ indicates the consequence. English syntax shifts to subject–verb–object, and Hebrew idioms like “grow beard” are rendered literally to preserve cultural nuance.