| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the narrative pivot vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | wayyōʾmer}, linking two speeches. The idiomatic question ha-shalom {הֲשָׁלוֹם | hashālôm} literally asks “Is it peace?” as an inquiry into wellbeing. The double prepositional sequence la-naar le-Avshalom {לַנַּעַר לְאַבְשָׁלוֹם | la-na‛ar le-Avšālôm} functions as a single indirect object “to the young man Absalom.” Ahimaaz’s report begins with the perfect verb raiti {רָאִיתִי | rāʾītî} “I saw” followed by the noun phrase hamon ha-gadol {הֲמֹון הַגָּדוֹל | hamôn ha-gāḏôl} expressing magnitude. The infinitive construct bishloach {בִּשְׁלֹחַ | bišlōaḥ} “when sending” introduces the action of Joab {יוֹאָב | Yōʾāḇ}. The direct object markers et {אֶת | ’et} before eved ha-melekh and et-avdekha mark two coordinated objects, “the king’s servant and your servant.” The vav-consecutive forms maintain narrative flow, and the concluding clause wə-lo yadati mah {וְלֹא יָדַעְתִּי מָה | wə-lō yāḏa‘tî māh} conveys Ahimaaz’s uncertainty about what occurred. |