| 22. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive imperfect vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said,’ establishing narrative sequence. The coordinated imperatives lekh {לֵךְ | lēḵ} ‘go’ and vaavor {וַעֲבֹר | vaʿăbôr} ‘cross over’ convey David’s command and urgency, while the subsequent vav-consecutive imperfect vayavor {וַיַּעֲבֹר | wayyaʿăbôr} ‘and he crossed over’ depicts prompt compliance. The gentilic haggittî {הַגִּתִּי | haggittî} ‘Gittite’ identifies Ittai’s origin, and the paired constructions ve-khol anashav {וְכָל־אֲנָשָׁיו | wəḵōl ʾănāšāw} ‘and all his men’ and ve-khol hattap {וְכָל־הַטַּף | wəḵōl haṭṭāp̱} ‘and all the little ones’ emphasize totality. The relative clause asher itto {אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ | ʾăšer ʾiṯtô} ‘who were with him’ qualifies the group. English rendering maintains the Hebrew word order and aspect by distinguishing the command in direct speech and mirroring the sequence of verbs. |