| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The vav-consecutive imperfects way-ya-’an {וַיַּעַן | wə-ya-’an} ‘and he answered’ and way-yo-mər {וַיֹּאמַר | wə-yo-mər} ‘and he said’ introduce David’s direct speech. The particle et {אֶת־ | ’et} marks Ahimelekh {אֲחִימֶלֶךְ | ’ă-ḥî-mê-leḵ} ha-kohen {הַכֹּהֵן | ha-kō-hên}, while the adverb ha-hen {הָהֵן | hā-hên} situates the account in time. The Qal perfect khadar {חָדַר | ḥā-ḏār} conveys a completed royal commission directed to David by lî {לִּי | lî}. The prohibition al-yē-ḏa‘ {אַל־יֵדַע | ’al-yē-ḏa‘} + imperfect, coupled with adam {אָדָם | ’ā-ḏām} ‘man’ and māh-’ă-nî {מַה־אֲנִי | māh-’ă-nî} ‘what I am’, signals a firm command against disclosing the mission šĕ-la-ḥtî-kha {שְׁלַחְתִּיךָ | šĕ-la-ḥtî-kha}. The second way-yo-mər then conveys David’s instruction to his men û-lə-’î-šay {וּלְאִישַׁי | û-lə-’î-šay}, followed by the Hiphil imperative hi-sā-tēr {הִסָּתֵר | hi-sā-tēr} and the locative bə-mā-qôm {בְּמָקוֹם | bə-mā-qôm}, emphasizing urgency and the need for concealment. |