| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with veavshalom {וְאַבְשָׁל֗וֹם | wə-ʾav-šā-lōm} ‘and Absalom’ followed by the distributive phrase vekhol haam ish yisrael {וְכָל־הָעָם֙ אִ֣ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | wə-ḵol hā-ʿām ʾîš yiś-rā-ʾēl} ‘and all the people, every man of Israel’ to emphasize the extent of his national support. The verb bau yerushalayim {בָּאוּ יְרוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם | bā-ʾû yĕ-ru-šā-lā-yim} ‘they came to Jerusalem’ indicates a unified arrival. The final coordinate waachitophel itto {וַאֲחִיתֹפֶל אִתּֽוֹ | wa-ʾă-ḥî-tō-p̄ēl ʾit-tô} ‘and Ahithophel with him’ highlights his close alliance by placing the prepositional phrase at the end of the clause. |