וּפָנַ֖י

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 וּפָנַ֖י

   u-fa-NAI

   and my face
2. clause🔊 וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ יִסֹּ֣ב אֶל־בֵּית֔וֹ וּפָנַ֖י לֹ֣א יִרְאֶ֑ה

   va-YO-mer ha-ME-lekh yis-SOV el-BE-to u-fa-NAI LO yir-E

   and he said the king let him turn aside to his house and my face not let him see
3. sentence🔊 וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ יִסֹּ֣ב אֶל־בֵּית֔וֹ וּפָנַ֖י לֹ֣א יִרְאֶ֑ה וַיִּסֹּ֤ב אַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ אֶל־בֵּית֔וֹ וּפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ לֹ֥א רָאָֽה׃

   va-YO-mer ha-ME-lekh yis-SOV el-BE-to u-fa-NAI LO yir-E va-yis-SOV av-sha-LOM el-BE-to u-fe-NE ha-ME-lekh LO ra-A

   and he said the king let him turn aside to his house and my face not let him see and he turned aside Absalom to his house and the face of the king not he saw

Exegesis

The expression ufanai lo yir·ʾeh {וּפָנַ֖י לֹ֣א יִרְאֶ֑ה | ū-pā-nāy lōʾ yirʾēh} uses panim {פָּנִים | pānîm} ‘face’ as an idiom for royal presence, with lo {לֹ֣א | lōʾ} emphatically negating access. The narrative then mirrors with vayissov ...

The final clause ufenei hamelekh lo ra·ʾah {וּפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ לֹ֥א רָאָֽה | ū-pə-nê ha-me-leḵ lōʾ rāʾāh} ‘and the face of the king he did not see’ reiterates the denial, preserving the Hebrew idiom and emphasis on exclusion. The jussive is rendered as “let him turn” (formal) and “must go” (dynamic) to reflect the tone of royal command.