| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’, introducing direct speech. The prepositional compounds el-tsadok {אֶל־צָדוֹק | ʾel-ṣāḏōq} and ve-el-evyatar {וְאֶל־אֶבְיָתָר | wə-ʾel-ʾĕḇyāṯar} frame the addressees—Zadok and Abiathar the priests—and highlight their advisory roles. The idiomatic demonstrative pair kazot vekazot {כָּזֹאת וְכָזֹאת | kāzōṯ wə-kāzōṯ} marks unspecified counsel and, through repetition, emphasizes the contrast. The verbs yaatz {יָעַץ | yā‘aṣ} and yaatzti {יָעַצְתִּי | yā‘aṣtî} establish parallel advisory actions by Ahithophel and Hushai. Finally, the direct objects et-avshalom {אֶת־אַבְשָׁלֹם | ’eṯ-’ăḇšālōm} and ve-et ziknei {וְאֵת זִקְנֵי | wə-’eṯ ziqnê} specify the recipients, preserving the Hebrew structure’s focus on counsel recipients. |