| 30. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with a vav consecutive clause, vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’, introducing direct discourse. The prepositional phrase el-avadav {אֶל־עֲבָדָיו | ʾel-ʿăw-wā-ḏāyw} ‘to his servants’ marks the addressees. The imperative re’u {רְאוּ | rēʾū} ‘look’ initiates the command. A genitival construct chelkat Yoav {חֶלְקַת יוֹאָב | ḥel-qāṯ Yōʾāw} ‘Joab’s field’ with the adjunct el-yadi {אֶל־יָדִי | ʾel-yā-ḏî} ‘next to my hand’ conveys proximity. The nominal clause ve-lo-sham seorim {וְלוֹ־שָׁם שְׂעֹרִים | wə-lō-šām sə-ʿō-rîm} ‘and there is barley’ is smoothed as “he has barley there.” The paired imperatives lechu {לְכוּ | lə-ḵū} ‘go’ and the Hifil imperfect ve-hotsetiha {וְהוֹצֵתֵ֨הָ | wə-hō-ṣe-tê-hā} ‘you shall set it on fire’, reinforced by the Hifil perfect ve-ha-tsituha {וְהַצִּית֣וּהָ | wə-hat-tsi-tû-hā}, express a purposeful causation. The narrative resumes past action in the vav consecutive vayatsitu {וַיַּצִּתוּ | wayyat-tsî-tû} ‘and they set on fire’, with avdei Avshalom {עַבְדֵי אַבְשָׁלֹם | ʿav-dê ʾav-shā-lōm} ‘Absalom’s servants’ as subject and et-ha-chelka {אֶת־הַחֶלְקָה | ʾet-ha-ḥel-qāh} marking the definite object ‘the field’, completed by the phrase ba-esh {בָּאֵשׁ | bā-ʾēš} ‘with fire’. The repetition of causative forms underscores the deliberate act of arson. |