| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The clause opens with vayomer {וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | wayyōʾmer} ‘and he said,’ a wayyiqtol form that advances the narrative and introduces direct speech. The speaker is identified immediately (Jehoshaphat), and the addressee is marked by the prepositional phrase el melekh yisrael {אֶל־מֶ֣לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | ʾel mēleḵ yiśrāʾēl} ‘to the king of Israel,’ setting the interpersonal setting of counsel between kings. The speech begins with the imperative derash {דְּרָשׁ־ | dərāš} strengthened by the entreaty particle na {נָ֥א | nāʾ} ‘please,’ producing a polite but urgent request rather than a mere suggestion. The temporal adverbial kayom {כַיּ֖וֹם | kayyôm} ‘today/at this time’ presses for immediate action. The object is introduced by ʾeṯ {אֶת־ | ʾeṯ}, followed by the construct chain devar Yahweh {דְּבַר יְהוָה | dəḇar Yahweh} ‘word of the LORD,’ which tightly links the sought “word” to the LORD’s authority; English represents this linkage with an “of” genitive (“word of the LORD”) while keeping the focus on obtaining divine direction before acting. |