| 35. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the idiom velo yasaf {וְלֹא־יָסַ֨ף | wə-lō-yā-sap} ‘did not continue’, using a vav-consecutive Qal perfect to signal the end of Samuel’s visits. The infinitive construct lir’ot {לִרְא֤וֹת | li-rᵊ-ʾōṯ} ‘to see’ takes the objective marker et {אֶת־ | ʾet} before the accusative (Shaul {שָׁאוּל | šāʾūl}). The temporal phrase ad yom moto {עַד־יוֹם מוֹתוֹ | ʿad yôm mōṯôw} ‘until the day of his death’ marks the action’s duration. The conjunction ki {כִּי־ | kî} introduces the causal clause: hitabbel {הִתְאַבֵּ֥ל | hitʾabbēl} ‘mourned’ in the Hitpael stem expresses intense personal lament. In the final clause the coordinate vav before Yahweh {וַיהוָ֣ה | way-yəhōwāh} shifts narrative focus, and nikham {נִחָ֔ם | nîḥām} ‘was grieved’ in the Niphal perfect conveys divine sorrow, again introduced by ki {כִּי־ | kî} as a causal connector before the Hiphil verb himlikh {הִמְלִ֥יךְ | himlîḵ} ‘he made king’. The preposition al {עַל־ | ʿal} marks the realm of authority (Yisrael {יִשְׂרָאֵֽל | yiśrāʾēl}). The repetition of ki clauses links Samuel’s grief to divine regret. |