| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive wayyōmer {וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’, which shifts the narrative into direct discourse. The subject Šā’ûl {שָׁאוּל | Šā’ûl} is followed by the prepositional frame ’el-‘avādāyw {אֶל־עֲבָדָיו | ’el-‘avādāyw} ‘to his servants’ specifying the recipients of the command. The imperative reʾû {רְאוּ | reʾû} ‘look’ combined with the particle nā {נָא | nā} ‘please’ forms a polite request construction. The construct phrase lī ’îš mēṭîv lə-naggên {לִי אִישׁ מֵיטִיב לְנַגֵּן | lī ’îš mēṭîv lə-naggên} ‘for me a man skilled to play’ uses the Hiphil participle mēṭîv {מֵיטִיב | mēṭîv} to express ability and the Piel infinitive lə-naggên {לְנַגֵּן | lə-naggên} to indicate the action of playing. The vav-consecutive Hiphil imperfect wə-hăbbî’ôtēm ’ēlāy {וַהֲבִיאוֹתֶם אֵלָי | wə-hăbbî’ôtēm ’ēlāy} ‘and bring to me’ conveys the ensuing command. The English rendition adjusts word order to reflect politeness while preserving the sequence of directives. |