| 26. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with the vav consecutive verb vayavo {וַיָּבֹ֤א | way-yā-bō} ‘and he came’, marking a past event, with the definite subject ha‘am {הָעָם֙ | hā-‘am} ‘the people’ entering the locative clause el-haya‘ar {אֶל־הַיַּ֔עַר | ʾel-ha-ya-‘ar} ‘into the forest’. The interjection vehineh {וְהִנֵּ֖ה | wə-hin-nēh} ‘and behold’ introduces the visual report of the participial phrase helekh devash {הֵ֣לֶךְ דְּבָ֑שׁ}, where the Qal participle helekh {הֵ֣לֶךְ | hē-lekh} conveys ongoing action ‘flowing’. The negative existential ve-ein {וְאֵין־ | wə-ʾēn-} ‘and there was not’ plus the Pi‘el participle massig {מַשִּׂיג | mas-sîg} ‘reaching’ emphasizes complete restraint. Finally, the causal conjunction ki {כִּֽי־ | kî-} ‘for’ introduces the result clause where the perfect verb yare {יָרֵ֥א | yā-rēʼ} ‘feared’ takes the direct object marker et {אֶת־ | ʾet-} before hashevuah {הַשְּׁבֻעָֽה | ha-šə-vū-ʻāh} ‘the oath’, placing the motivating fear at the conclusion for rhetorical impact. |