| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive in vayomer {וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | wayyō’mer} ‘and he said,’ marking the introduction of direct speech. The phrase leishto {לְאִשְׁתּ֗וֹ | le’îšṯō} ‘to his wife’ identifies the addressee immediately before the imperative kumi {ק֤וּמִי | qūmī} ‘arise’ plus the entreaty particle na {נָא֙ | nā}, conveying polite urgency. The Hitpael stem of vehishtanit {וְהִשְׁתַּנִּית | wehištannīṯ} ‘and disguise yourself’ indicates a reflexive action. The vav + negative velo yedeu {וְלֹ֣א יֵֽדְע֔וּ | welō’ yēdə‘û} ‘and they will not know’ introduces a purpose clause, with ki-atti {כִּי־אתי | kî-’attî} … att {אַ֖תְּ | ’att} intensifying ‘that you are.’ The sequential perfect vehalakht {וְהָלַ֣כְתְּ | wehālaḵṯ} ‘and go’ continues the narrative flow. The compound demonstrative hineh-sham {הִנֵּה־שָׁם֙ | hinnêh-šām} ‘behold there’ signals location, introducing achiya hanavi {אֲחִיָּ֣ה הַנָּבִ֔יא | ’ăḥiyyā hannāḇî’} ‘Ahijah the prophet.’ The emphatic pronoun hu-diber {הֽוּא־דִבֶּ֥ר | hû’ dibbēr} ‘he spoke’ clarifies agency, and the prepositional phrases alai lemelech al-ha’am hazeh {עָלַ֛י לְמֶ֖לֶךְ עַל־הָעָ֥ם הַזֶּֽה׃ | ‘ālāy lemeleḵ ‘al-hā‘ām hazzēh} ‘concerning me to be king over this people’ convey the prophetic content. The English translation renders the Hebrew sequence smoothly, balancing directness and narrative coherence. |