| 23. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the temporal marker vayhi {וַיְהִי֙ | wayyihî} ‘and it came to pass’, a vav-consecutive + Qal-imperfect third person masculine singular clause introducing a new narrative event. The time expression lishnatayim yamim {לִשְׁנָתַ֣יִם יָמִ֔ים | lišnātayim yāmîm}, literally “at two-years days,” functions idiomatically as “after two years.” The coordinator vayihyu {וַיִּהְיוּ֙ | wayyihyû} ‘and they were’ introduces the circumstance clause where gōżzîm {גֹֽזְזִים֙ | gōżzîm} ‘shearers’ denotes the workers at the sheep-shearing festival. The phrases ləʾavšālōm {לְאַבְשָׁל֔וֹם | ləʾavšālōm} ‘for Absalom’ and bəbaʿal ḥāṣōr {בְּבַ֥עַל חָצ֖וֹר | bəbaʿal ḥāṣōr} ‘at Baal Hazor’ set agent and location. The relative pronoun ’ăšer {אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ’ăšer} ‘which’ with ʿim eprayyim {עִם־אֶפְרָ֑יִם | ʿim eprayyim} ‘with Ephraim’ specifies proximity. Finally, the clause wayyiqrāʾ {וַיִּקְרָ֥א | wayyiqrāʾ} ‘and he called’ plus ləkol {לְכָל־ | ləkol} and bənē hammēleḵ {בְּנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ | bənē hammēleḵ} ‘all the king’s sons’ conveys Absalom’s invitation. The Hebrew verb-initial order is rendered in English with subject-verb-object for clarity. |