| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive form vataanenah {וַֽתַּעֲנֶ֛ינָה | vattəʿănēnāh} ‘and they answered’, which sets up a responsive refrain. The term hanashim {הַנָּשִׁים | hannāšīm} ‘the women’ is modified by the Piel participle hamesachakot {הַֽמְשַׂחֲק֖וֹת | haməśaḥăqōṯ} ‘those playing or dancing’, designating their celebratory function. The second vav-consecutive verb vatomerna {וַתֹּאמַרְנָה | vattōmarnāh} ‘and they said’ introduces the quoted proclamation. The Hiphil perfect hikkah {הִכָּה | hikkāh} ‘he struck’ and the prepositional phrases bealafav {בַּאֲלָפָיו | baʾălāpāyv} ‘in his thousands’ and berivvotav {בְּרִבְבֹתָיו | bəriḇbōṯāv} ‘in his ten-thousands’ form a parallelism contrasting Saul’s and David’s military achievements. English word order is adjusted for clarity while preserving the poetic balance and highlighting David’s superior feat. |