| 16. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the entreaty particle na {נָא | nāʼ} ‘entreaty’ attached to the cohortative verb yōmar-nāʼ {יֹאמַר־נָ֤א | yōmar-nāʼ} ‘let him say’, conveying polite urgency. The title adonenu {אֲדֹנֵ֙נוּ֙ | ʼă-dō-nê-nû} ‘our lord’ marks the addressee of the command, while the cohortative yəvaqšū {יְבַקְשׁ֕וּ | yə-ḇaq-šū} ‘let them seek’ governs the purpose clause with the object ish {אִ֕ישׁ | ʼîš} ‘man’ modified by the participles yōdēaʿ {יֹדֵ֖עַ | yō-ḏē-ʻaʿ} ‘skilled’ and mənaggēn {מְנַגֵּ֣ן | mə-nag-gēn} ‘playing’, linked to the prepositional phrase ba-kin-nôr {בַּכִּנּ֑וֹר | ba-kin-nôr} ‘on the lyre’. The vav-consecutive wə-hā-yāh {וְהָיָ֗ה | wə-hā-yāh} ‘and it shall be’ introduces a temporal-result clause, followed by the infinitive construct bi-ḥə-yōṯ {בִּֽהְי֨וֹת | bi-ḥə-yōṯ} ‘when there is’ with the pronoun ʻā-le-ḵā {עָלֶ֤יךָ | ʻā-le-ḵā} ‘upon you’, marking condition. In that clause the construct chain rūaḥ-ʼĕ-lō-hîm {רֽוּחַ־אֱלֹהִים֙ | rūaḥ-ʼĕ-lō-hîm} ‘spirit of God’ functions as subject, qualified by rāʻāh {רָעָ֔ה | rā-ʻāh} ‘evil’. The Piel perfect wə-nig-gēn {וְנִגֵּ֥ן | wə-nig-gēn} ‘then he will play’ resumes action, and the idiomatic wə-ṭōḇ lā-ḵā {וְט֥וֹב לָֽךְ | wə-ṭōḇ lā-ḵā} ‘and it will be good for you’ expresses the resulting relief. Sequencing of cohortative and vav-consecutive forms frames the initial request and its therapeutic outcome as linked narrative units. |