| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’, using the vav-consecutive to shift into direct speech. David as the speaker is marked by the proper name in subject position followed by the prepositional address el haElohim {אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִים | ʾel-hāʾĕlōhîm} ‘to God’. The interrogative halo {הֲלֹא | halō} introduces a rhetorical question about David’s own action in limnot baam {לִמְנוֹת בָּעָם | limnōt bāʿām} ‘to count the people’. The self-confession vaani-hu asher chatati ve-harea hareoti employs a relative clause with parallel perfect forms to emphasize personal guilt. The contrast with the nation appears in veeleh hatson {וְאֵלֶּה הַצֹּאן | wəʾēllēh haṣṣōʾn} ‘and these, the flock’, a shepherd/sheep metaphor. The jussive tehi na yadkha {תְּהִי נָא יָדְךָ | təhî nā yāḏkā} ‘let Your hand, please, be’ expresses a plea for substitutionary judgment. Finally, the construct phrase uvebeit avi uveamkha lo le-magefa {וּבְבֵית אָבִי וּבְעַמְּךָ לֹא לְמַגֵּפָה | ūbəbēṯ ʾāvî ūbəʿammkha lō ləmaḡēpāh} ‘and in my father’s house and in your people, not for plague’ delineates who should bear the punishment. The English versions preserve the Hebrew parallelism, metaphor, and plea-tone while offering natural idiom. |