| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with the vav-consecutive verb vayyiqqakh {וַיִּקַּח | va-yik-kakh} ‘and he took’, establishing sequential action. Yishai {יִשַׁי | yi-shay} is the subject, followed by coordinated objects khamor {חֲמוֹר | kha-mor} ’donkey’, lechem {לֶחֶם | le-khem} ’bread’, wenod yayin {וְנֹ֣אד יַ֔יִן | wə-nōʾəd yā-yīn} ’a skin of wine’, and ugedi izzim echad {וּגְדִ֥י עִזִּים אֶחָד | ū-gə-dî ʿiz-zîm ʾe-ḥād} ’one kid of goats’. The second vav-consecutive vayishlakh {וַיִּשְׁלַח | va-yish-lakh} ’and he sent’ introduces the agency phrase beyad David beno el Shaul {בְּיַד־דָּוִד בְּנוֹ אֶל־שָׁאוּל | bə-yad dā-wîd bə-no el šā-ʼûl}, marking David as the commissioned agent. Construct chains in the nested prepositional phrase underscore family delegation and direction of the mission. |