| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive perfect vayomer {וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | way-yō-mer} ‘and he said’, marking narrative continuity. The subject hamelekh {הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | ha-me-leḵ} ‘the king’ is followed by the Qal imperfect jussive yissov {יִסֹּ֣ב | yi-ssōv} ‘let him turn’, introducing a subordinate command. The prepositional phrase el beito {אֶל־בֵּית֔וֹ | ʾel bēytôw} ‘to his house’ functions as directional complement. 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 ... el beito {וַיִּסֹּ֤ב ... אֶל־בֵּית֔וֹ | way-yis-sōv ... ʾel bēytôw} ‘and he turned to his house’, forming a chiastic structure. 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. |