| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with wayyômer {וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | wayyômer} ‘and he said,’ using the vav-consecutive with Qal imperfect to introduce the king’s speech. The interrogative veʼayyēh {וְאַיֵּ֖ה | wəʼayyēh} ‘where?’ is followed by the construct benʼădōnēḵā {בֶּן־אֲדֹנֶיךָ | benʼădōnēḵā} ‘son of your master,’ marking possession within a direct address. Ziba’s reply begins with the interjection hinnēh {הִנֵּה֙ | hinnēh} ‘behold,’ introducing the participial clause yōšēḇ {יוֹשֵׁ֣ב | yōšēḇ} ‘sitting,’ which conveys continuous action. The locative bîrūšālayim {בִּירוּשָׁלִַ֔ם | bîrūšālayim} ‘in Jerusalem’ specifies the place. The conjunction kî {כִּ֣י | kî} ‘for’ introduces the reason clause with ʼāmar {אָמַ֔ר | ʼāmar} ‘he said,’ and hayyōm {הַיּ֗וֹם | hayyōm} ‘today’ sets the temporal frame. The Hiphil imperfect yāšîḇû {יָשִׁ֤יבוּ | yāšîḇû} ‘they will restore’ takes the object chain lī {לִי֙ | lī} ‘to me’ + bêt yiśrāʾēl {בֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | bêt yiśrāʾēl} ‘house of Israel,’ and mamləḵût ʼāḇî {מַמְלְכ֥וּת אָבִֽי | mamləḵût ʼāḇî} ‘kingdom of my father.’ The structure highlights direct discourse, possession, and political expectation through each particle and verb form. |