| 49. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative continuation marker wayyiḥyû {וַיִּֽהְיוּ֙ | wayyiḥyû} ‘and they were’ uses the vav-consecutive with the Qal imperfect to link this verse to its context. The construct chain bənê Šāʾûl {בְּנֵי שָׁאוּל} ‘sons of Saul’ attaches the subsequent proper names as his male offspring. The coordinated list Yōnāṯān, Yišwî, ū-malkî-šûaʿ reflects Hebrew paratactic enumeration. The phrase wə-šēm šᵉṭê bənōṯāw {וְשֵׁם שְׁתֵּי בְנֹתָיו} ‘and the name of two daughters’ employs the feminine dual numeral to specify exactly two daughters. Each daughter’s name is introduced by šēm {שֵׁם} ‘name’ plus an absolute adjective (habbᵊḵîrâ, hakkᵉṭannâ) indicating birth order, creating parallelism that underscores family hierarchy. The English translations maintain this structure through parallel phrasing and birth-order designations. |