| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with the vav-consecutive imperfect form vayyāḇōʾ {וַיָּבֹא֙ | way·yā·ḇōʾ} ‘and he came’, advancing the storyline. The participle hammaggid {הַמַּגִּיד | ham·mag·gîd} ‘messenger’ specifies a professional informer. The prepositional phrase ʾel-Dāwīḏ {אֶל־דָּוִד | ʾel-dā·wīḏ} ‘to David’ identifies the recipient. The infinitive construct lēʾāmôr {לֵאמֹר | lē·ʾā·môr} ‘to say’ introduces direct discourse. The perfect verb hayāh {הָיָה | hā·yāh} ‘became’ forms a copular-like statement. The compound lev-ʾīš {לֶב־אִישׁ | lev-ʾīš} ‘heart of a man’ stands as subject, with Yisrāʾēl {יִשְׂרָאֵל | yis·rā·ʾēl} ‘of Israel’ in apposition. The preposition aḥărê {אַחֲרֵי | a·ḥə·rê} ‘after’ denotes loyalty following. The resulting clause centers on ʾAvšālōm {אַבְשָׁלוֹם | ʾav·šā·lōm} as the focus of allegiance. The formal translation mirrors Hebrew word order to highlight the shift in political loyalty, while the dynamic translation adapts “heart of a man of Israel” to “people of Israel” for idiomatic clarity. |