| 19. Linguistic Exegesis The verse advances the vision narrative with wayyōʾmer {וַיֹּאמֶר | wayyōʾmer} ‘and he said’, introducing direct speech from the divine speaker. The interrogative mî {מִי | mî} ‘who’ fronts the question, and the Piel imperfect yəp̄attê {יְפַתֶּה | yəp̄attê} ‘will entice’ conveys deliberate persuasion that leads toward a harmful end, fitting the courtroom-like council setting. The object is marked by ʾeṯ {אֶת | ʾeṯ} before the target, and the construct chain meleḵ-yiśrāʾēl {מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל | meleḵ-yiśrāʾēl} ‘king of Israel’ heightens the irony that a king is being directed by a higher throne. The two waw-linked imperfects wəyaʿal … wəyippōl {וְיַעַל … וְיִפֹּל | wəyaʿal … wəyippōl} function as a purpose-and-result sequence (“so that he goes up and falls”), not merely a timeline, so English is shaped to show intended outcome. The location bərāmōṯ gilʿāḏ {בְּרָמֹת גִּלְעָד | bərāmōṯ gilʿāḏ} anchors the decree in a specific battlefield. The closing line uses parallel demonstratives with participles, zeh ʾōmēr kākāh … wəzeh ʾōmēr kākāh {זֶה אֹמֵר כָּכָה … וְזֶה אֹמֵר כָּכָה | zeh ʾōmēr kākāh … wəzeh ʾōmēr kākāh}, portraying multiple proposals in balanced, repetitive cadence to stress competing counsel under divine sovereignty. |