וַיַּגֶּד־ל֑וֹ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 וַיַּגֶּד־ל֑וֹ

   va-ya-GED-lo

   and he told him
2. clause🔊 וַיֵּ֧לֶךְ עֹבַדְיָ֛הוּ לִקְרַ֥את אַחְאָ֖ב וַיַּגֶּד־ל֑וֹ

   va-YE-lekh o-vad-ya-HU lik-RA-t akh-AV va-ya-GED-lo

   and he went Obadiah to meet Ahab and he told him
3. sentence🔊 וַיֵּ֧לֶךְ עֹבַדְיָ֛הוּ לִקְרַ֥את אַחְאָ֖ב וַיַּגֶּד־ל֑וֹ וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ אַחְאָ֖ב לִקְרַ֥את אֵלִיָּֽהוּ׃

   va-YE-lekh o-vad-ya-HU lik-RA-t akh-AV va-ya-GED-lo va-YE-lekh akh-AV lik-RA-t e-li-YA-hu

   and he went Obadiah to meet Ahab and he told him and he went Ahab to meet Elijah

Exegesis

The first sequence (vayelekh Ovadyahu likrat Akhav) employs the infinitive construct likrat {לִקְרַ֥את | liqrāʾt} ‘to meet’ to express purpose and directional intent, while vayagged-lo {וַיַּגֶּד־ל֑וֹ | wayyaggēd lō} ‘and he told him’ introduces the content of the encounter. The second sequence repeats vayelekh with Akhav as the subject, indicating Ahab’s responsive movement toward the same goal. The parallelism of these constructions underscores the symmetry between the envoy’s mission and the king’s action, framing Elijah as the focal point of both visits.