| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with yetsar {וַיֵּ֨צֶר | wă-yē-ṣer} ‘became distressed’, a vav-consecutive Qal imperfect that immediately situates Amnon’s emotional turmoil. The infinitive lə-hitkhalot {לְהִתְחַלּ֗וֹת | lə-ḥit-ḥal-lōṯ} ‘to make himself ill’ expresses reflexive causation introduced by ba-ʿavur {בַּֽעֲבוּר֙ | ba-ʿa-vur} ‘because of’, linked to tamar {תָּמָ֣ר | tā-mār} ‘Tamar’, with ʼaḥōtô {אֲחֹת֔וֹ | ʾa-ḥō-to} ‘his sister’ marking the relationship. The conjunction kî {כִּ֥י | kî} ‘because’ introduces betulah {בְתוּלָ֖ה | bə-tū-lāh} ‘virgin’ as the motivator. Yipʾalê {וַיִּפָּלֵא֙ | wă-yip-pā-lēʾ} ‘be difficult’, a Nifal imperfect, conveys inability, while bə-ʿeynê {בְּעֵינֵ֣י | bə-ʿê-nê} ‘in the eyes of’ frames Amnon’s perspective. The infinitive la-ʿasôt {לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת | la-ʿa-śōt} ‘to do’ with the suffix lah {לָ֖הּ | lā-h} ‘to her’ and məʼūmāh {מְאֽוּמָה | mə-ʾū-māh} ‘anything’ completes the thought, restructuring the Hebrew VSO order into clear English SVO. |