| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with the consecutive vav clause vattiqach {וַתִּקַּח | va-tti-qakh} ‘then she took’, which initiates a series of actions by Michal. The particle et {אֶת | ʾet} marks the definite object teraphim {תְּרָפִים | te-rā-fîm} ‘household idols’. The verb vattasem {וַתָּשֶׂם | wa-tā-sem} ‘and she put’ governs the prepositional phrase el ha-mittah {אֶל־הַמִּטָּה | ʾel-hā-mit-tāh} ‘on the bed’. The conjunction we-ʾet {וְאֵת | wə-ʾēt} ‘and also’ links to kevir ha-ʿizzim {כְּבִיר הָעִזִּים | ke-vîr hā-ʿizzīm} ‘a goats’ hair cushion’ in a construct chain. The verb samah {שָׂמָה | sā-māh} ‘she placed’ takes the suffix in meraʾashotav {מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו | merāʾašōtāv} ‘at its head’, specifying the precise placement. Finally, the Piel perfect vattəkhas {וַתְּכַס | wa-ttə-khas} ‘and she covered’ with ba-bāged {בַּבָּגֶד | ba-bā-geḏ} ‘with the garment’ completes the concealment. The Hebrew VSO order with consecutive vav is rendered as coordinated SVO clauses to preserve the unfolding deception. |