| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The verse unfolds through a series of sequential vav-consecutive verbs: vayissa {וַיִּשָּׂא | wayyissaʾ} ‘and he lifted’, vayanichehu {וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ | wayyanhiḥēhu} ‘and he laid it down’, vayeshivehu {וַיְשִׁיבֵהוּ | wayyăšīvēhu} ‘and he brought him back’, and vayavo {וַיָּבֹא | wayyāḇōʾ} ‘and he came’, indicating chronological progression. The direct object marker et {אֶת | ’eṯ} introduces nivlat {נִבְלַת | nivlāṯ} ‘corpse’, which forms a construct chain with ish-haElohim {אִישׁ־הָאֱלֹהִים | ’îš-hā-’ĕlōhîm} ‘man of God’. Hiphil stems (vayanichehu, vayeshivehu) convey causative action of placement and return. Prepositional phrases el-ha-chamor {אֶל־הַחֲמֹר | ’el-hā-ḥămôr} and el-ir {אֶל־עִיר | ’el-ʿîr} mark location and direction. The infinitives lispod {לִסְפֹּד | liśpōḏ} ‘to mourn’ and ul-kavro {וּלְקָבְרוֹ | ū-lə-qāvrô} ‘to bury him’ express purpose. The repetition of the definite article in hanavi {הַנָּבִיא | ha-nābîʾ} and hazaken {הַזָּקֵן | ha-zāqēn} underscores the specific identity of the elder prophet. |