| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the vav-consecutive form vayyikkaḥ {וַיִּקַּח | wayyikkaḥ} ‘and he took’, linking David to the reception of et-hadvarim ha’ele ‘these words’. The dative elav {אֵלָיו | ʾēlāyw} ‘to him’ marks David as recipient. A second vav-consecutive vayyiṭqa‘ bəlîvô {וַיִּתְּקַע בְּלִבּוֹ | wayyiṯ·qaʿ bə·lî·bbô} ‘and he laid up in his heart’ forms an idiom of internalization. A third vav-consecutive vayyirā {וַיִּירָא | wayyirā} ‘and he feared’, modified by me’ōd {מְאֹד | me·ʾō·ḏ} ‘very much’, denotes David’s reaction. The cause clause mippənê {מִפְּנֵי | mip·pə·nê} ‘because of’ leads into ʿAkīš {עַכִּישׁ | ʿa·kīš} ‘Achish’, and the construct phrase melekh-gat {מֶלֶךְ־גַּת | me·leḵ-gat} ‘king of Gath’ situates the fear within its Philistine political context. |