| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayomer {וַיֹּ֧אמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’, a vav consecutive plus Qal imperfect marking sequential action. The subject hamelekh {הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ | hammeleḵ} ‘the king’ introduces direct speech. The prepositional phrase el-ha’ishah {אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה | ʾel-hāʾiššāh} ‘to the woman’ marks the addressee. The imperative lechi {לְכִ֣י | ləḵî} ‘go’ (feminine singular) initiates the command, followed by leveitekh {לְבֵיתֵ֑ךְ | ləbêṯêḵ} ‘to your house’ specifying destination. A second vav va’ani {וַאֲנִ֖י | waʾănî} ‘and I’ shifts agency back to the king. The Qal imperfect atsaveh {אֲצַוֶּ֥ה | ʾăṣāvveh} ‘I will command’ and the prepositional suffix in alayikh {עָלָֽיִךְ | ʿālāyḵ} ‘upon you’ complete the royal decree. The coordination of two vav clauses conveys rapid narrative progression typical of Hebrew historical prose. |