| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the waw-consecutive verb vayomeru {וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ | wayyōʼmerū} ‘and they said’, introducing direct speech. The construct chain avdei {עַבְדֵי־ | ʿăḇdê} + Shaul {שָׁאוּל | šāʾûl} specifies the speakers as Saul’s servants. The prepositional phrase elav {אֵלָיו | ʾēlāyw} marks Saul as the addressee. The interjection hineh-na {הִנֵּה־נָּא | hinnē-nāʼ} ‘behold now’ functions as an attention-getter. The chained noun phrase ruach Elohim raah {רוּחַ־אֱלֹהִ֛ים רָעָה | rūaḥ ʼĕlōhîm rāʿāh} ‘evil spirit from God’ qualifies the feminine noun ruach. The Piel participle mevaʼittekha {מְבַעִתֶּֽךָ | məḇaʿittěḵā} ‘terrifying you’ emphasizes ongoing divine action towards Saul. The Hebrew word order and morphology convey abruptness and severity, which the English rendering preserves by maintaining emphatic particles and participial aspect. |