| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive imperfect vayagged {וַיַּגֵּד | wayyaggēḏ} ‘and he told’, signaling narrative continuation. The indirect object phrase le-david {לְדָוִד | lə-dāwīd} identifies David as the recipient. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} introduces the content of the report. The perfect verb harag {הָרַג | hā-rāg} conveys a completed action of killing. The direct object marker et {אֵת | ʾēṯ} precedes the construct noun kohanei {כֹּהֲנֵי | kōhă-nê} ‘priests’, which is in construct relation with the divine name Yahweh {יְהוָה | yəhōwāh}, yielding ‘priests of the LORD’. Hebrew word order places the verb before its subject and object to emphasize Saul’s action against sacred officers. The English rendition adjusts to subject–verb–object order for natural flow while preserving this emphasis. |