| 25. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the direct-object marker ve’et {וְאֶת־ | wə-ʾet}, which foregrounds Amasa by marking him as the object before the verb. The verb sam {שָׂם | śām} “he placed” then introduces Absalom as the agent through an object–verb–subject order emphasizing the appointment. The preposition tachat {תַּחַת | ṯā-ḥat} “in place of” signals replacement, and the compound prepositional phrase al-hatzava {עַל־הַצָּבָא | ʿal-ha-ṣā-ḇāʾ} denotes authority over the army. A chained apposition wa’amasa ben-ish u-shmo {וַעֲמָשָׂא בֶן־אִישׁ וּשְׁמוֹ | wa-ʿă-mā-śāʾ ben-ʾîš u-šə-mōʾ} establishes his lineage, followed by yiṯ-rāʾ ha-yiśrəʾēlî {יִתְרָא הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִי | yiṯ-rāʾ ha-yiś-rə-ʾē-lî} identifying national status. The relative clause ašer-bāʾ el-avigal {אֲשֶׁר־בָּא אֶל־אֲבִיגַל | ʾă-šer-bāʾ ʾel-ʾă-ḇî-ḡal} indicates movement toward Abigail, and consecutive construct phrases bat-nā-ḥāš, ʾă-ḥōṯ, ʾēm yo-ʾāḇ stack familial ties. English shifts to subject–verb–object order but preserves Hebrew emphasis on appointment and genealogy. |