| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav consecutive imperfect verb vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | va-yō-mḗr} ‘and he said’, introducing David’s speech. The prepositional phrase el-yonatan {אֶל־יוֹנָתָן | ʾel-yō-na-tan} ‘to Jonathan’ marks the addressee. The particle na {נָא | nāʾ} ‘please’ softens the request. The interrogative mi {מִי | mî} ‘who’ combined with the imperfect yagid {יַגִּיד | ya-gîd} ‘will tell’ forms a future-oriented inquiry, with li {לִי | lî} ‘to me’ indicating the recipient. The conditional im {אִם | ʾim} ‘if’ introduces the protasis through im-yaaneh {אִם־יַעֲנֶה | ʾim-ya-ʿă-neh} ‘if he answers’. The direct object avikha {אָבִיךָ | ʾa-vî-kha} ‘your father’ is in construct form, and the adjective kashe {קָשֶׁה | qā-šê} ‘harsh’ defines the anticipated response. The structure emphasizes David’s urgent relational concern and the potential severity of the father’s answer. |