| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayetzav {וַיְצַו | wayyəṣṣāw} ‘and he commanded’, using the vav-consecutive to mark narrative sequence. The noun hamelek {הַמֶּלֶךְ | ha-meleḵ} ‘the king’ serves as subject, followed by three et markers {אֶת־ | ’et} to specify recipients Joab, Abishai, and Ittai. The infinitive lemor {לֵאמֹר | lē-’emor} ‘to say’ introduces direct speech, while le-at {לְאַט | lə-’ăṭ} ‘gently’ modifies manner and li {לִי | lī} ‘for me’ expresses personal motive. The term lana’ar {לַנַּעַר | la-na-’ar} ‘the young man’ defines Absalom’s status. Transitioning, ve-kol {וְכָל | wə-ḵōl} ‘and all’ plus ha-am {הָעָם | hā-‘ām} ‘the people’ introduces the public reaction. The Piel infinitive be-tsavvot {בְּצַוּוֹת | bə-ṣăwwôt} ‘in commanding’ with suffix and the second hamelek {הַמֶּלֶךְ | ha-meleḵ} highlight royal agency, and al-devar {עַל־דְּבַר | ʿal-də-ḇar} ‘concerning’ frames Absalom as the topic of those orders. English rendering preserves the series of commands and clarifies each direct object. |