| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the narrative verb vayyoasef {וַיֹּ֣אסֶף | way-yō-ʼă-sep} ‘and he continued’, employing the vav consecutive with a Qal imperfect to indicate intensification. It takes the prepositional infinitive lero {לֵרֹ֛א | lə-rō-ʼ} ‘to fear’ as its complement. The causal preposition mipnei {מִפְּנֵ֥י | mip-pə-nê} ‘from before’ introduces the reason for this fear directed toward David. The adverb od {עוֹד | ʿōḏ} ‘still’ underscores the ongoing nature of the emotion. A shift occurs with vayhi {וַיְהִ֥י | way-hî-yî} ‘and he was’, a Qal perfect under vav consecutive that introduces a resultant state: Saul as oyev {אֹיֵ֥ב | ʼō-yēv} ‘enemy’. The particle et {אֶת־ | ʼeṯ} marks David as the object of hostility. Finally, the temporal expression kol hayyamim {כָּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃ | kol hay-yā-mîm} ‘all the days’ establishes the full duration of Saul’s enmity. In English, these features are rendered through parallel infinitival and possessive constructions to preserve both intensification and temporal continuity. |