| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive form vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | va-yo-MER} ‘and he said’, which introduces Jonathan’s response. The prepositional phrase el David {אֶל־דָּוִד | ʾel-DA-vid} marks David as addressee. The main clause lo tamut {לֹא תָמוּת | LO ta-MUT} ‘you shall not die’ employs the imperfect to convey assured survival. The conjunction ki {כִּי | KI} ‘for’ introduces a causal clause, and the conditional particle im hayah {אִם־הָיָה | IM-ha-YA} ‘if … would be’ sets a hypothetical. The construct chain kol hadavar hagadol hazeh {כָּל־הַדָּבָר הַגָּדוֹל הַזֶּה | KOL-ha-da-VAR ha-ga-DOL ha-ZEH} ‘any of these great matters’ defines scope. The infinitive lemaʿar {לְמָעַר | lə-ma-ʿar} ‘to hide’ carries purposive force, followed by the pronominal suffix aleikha {עָלֶיךָ | a-lei-KHA}, formally second person. Narrative context and 1 Samuel 19:5 demonstrate that Jonathan, not David, is the intended recipient of disclosure, so the translation renders “from me.” |